


That One Time Hermione Fell In Love With The Wrong Weasley

by warpaintandpixiedust



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-01
Updated: 2019-07-22
Packaged: 2019-07-23 13:32:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 14
Words: 29,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16159934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/warpaintandpixiedust/pseuds/warpaintandpixiedust
Summary: Hermione is starting to feel a little lonely, and Malfoy tries to make her feel like she never has fun. Fred is under mounting pressure to get better grades and his twin is always busy with his new girlfriend. So Fred and Hermione agree to help each other out, but when their deal comes to an end they find they like being around one another a little too much.





	1. Chapter 1

After three intense years at Hogwarts school for witchcraft and Wizardry, Hermione Granger was looking forwards to getting her head down and focusing on her studies. After all she had been through more with her friends, Harry and Ron, than she ever had in the Muggle world, before she had even known about magic and all of it’s possibilities. But she wouldn’t have it any other way. Sure the Triwizard tournament was not something she was expecting, but it did make things a little more exciting without all the danger she kept being thrown into, it was something Harry had to do pretty much solo, three headed dogs, giant snakes and escaped wrongly convicted convicts are fun but nowhere near as fun as a nice quiet library. Hermione had found herself a nice quiet corner, with a window overlooking the lake, to waste away her evening while she studied and got a head start on the work she had been assigned that day. 

After five brilliant years at Hogwarts Fred Weasley was feeling depressed, his sixth year was going to be the worst. He had been planning on things being the same between his twin brother George and himself, but girls always ruin everything. Instead of focusing on their joke shop business and all the amazing inventions they had been thinking up over the summer, George was off snogging some girl, or doing whatever couples who are in love and like alone time. And his twin abandoning him for the female kind was not his only problem. It felt like every other day he was receiving some kind of letter from his parents about his slipping grades and the occasional embarrassing howler. His parents did not understand that Fred wasn’t built for the usual kind of learning environment. Nor did he respond well to being compared to all of his brothers and now his little sister as well. And from time to time Harry freaking Potter himself. This year he just wanted to get his parents off his back for once. And find someone else to hang out with. Sure Lee Jordan can be fun but he also had a girlfriend of his own. So Fred found himself wondering the unfamiliar aisles of the library until he spotted a friendly face.

“Well, Hermione Granger,” Fred said as he picked up a random book from her stack and sat down opposite her, “it is such a rare sight to see you without my little brother and his bestie.” He said, Hermione rolled her eyes but she could not hide her smile. “Have you been inside here all day when you could be enjoying the wonderful British weather?” Fred asked gesturing to the window, it had been raining all day. He put the book down and picked up another, not giving either a proper glance. Hermione had taken over the table with her work and made herself a little nest, it was clear she had been here for quite some time and had no intentions of leaving any time soon.

“I have homework to do Fred,” Hermione said, she couldn’t help but feel relieved to have someone to talk to, she had been alone with her thoughts and her books for a while now, “I am guessing you do as well?” Fred shrugged. He did have homework to do, five years worth in fact, but why break the habit of a lifetime when he could be having fun, not that he had anyone to have fun with at the moment. “So why not get started? Or is leaving everything to the last minute a Weasley tradition?”

“I don’t think it’s a Weasley thing, have you met Percy?” Fred said, he got a glare from Madam Pince so he lowered his voice a little, he did not want to get Hermione kicked out, this was only meant to be a friendly visit, and he was never all that good at having any control over the volume of his own voice, “or Ginny.”

“I haven’t actually seen Ginny in a while.” Hermione said looking up for a moment, Fred was looking through the books on her stack and placed around her. She didn’t mind, as long as he did not touch anything she needed right now, she was on a roll and did not want to lose her place in any of her books. She hadn’t seen much of anyone, they all seemed to be busy with their own thing. “Or your younger brother either.” Hermione muttered, Fred was the only Weasley she had seen all day and her interactions with Ron were becoming less frequent now he was seeing Lavender Brown. 

“I bet it’s because of Lavender,” Fred said pretending to flip his hair the same way Lavender Brown did, Hermione laughed a little too loudly which gained her some rather hissed shh’s. She blushed but did not stop smiling. “Why do girls always ruin everything?” Fred sighed, finally putting down all of the books he had been picking through.

“First things first, I am a girl,” Hermione pointed out, Fred shrugged, “and I guess you must be referring to George’s new girlfriend, Angelina?” Hermione asked, Fred shrugged again. Out of the corner of his eye he saw someone standing by the aisle next to them in the shadows, they did not appear to be looking at any of the books, but instead at them. He couldn’t tell who they were through the darkness but he did not like the idea of them just standing there for no good reason.

“Well Hermione this has been fun and all but I must get back to do nothing or I might fall behind,” Fred said getting up and waving goodbye. He made sure that he went via the dark figure, he managed to catch a glimpse of Dumstrung uniform and a rather well built figure. They still appeared to be watching Hermione as he left. The library would be closing soon, Fred was not too fond of leaving Hermione by herself with someone like that around but Madam Pince would probably be shooing them both out soon enough.

Hermione began to pack up her books, she knew from her many late evening visits to the library that Madam Pince would soon be scolding her for not leaving and having so many books off of the shelves. She had a pile levitating with one hand while she placed the books back onto the shelves with the other. All the while she thought she could hear footsteps, at first she put them to the back of her mind, assuming madam Pince was being her usual uptight self and following Hermione around. It wouldn’t be the first time. But normally she would of been able to hear the tutting and the murmuring and the shuffling of books. This time it was only breathing and footsteps. This time it wasn’t her, this time someone else was following her. Hermione decided to keep her cool, calmly put back her books and leave as soon as she could. The library was quiet but the corridors would be busy, and the common room wasn’t that far away.

“Miss Granger, how many times do I have to ask you?” Madam Pince said as Hermione gathered her things. She was done with the books now, she just needed to get her stuff and go.

“I’m sorry,” Hermione murmured as she stuffed things into her bag as fast as she could. “I’m just going.” Madam Pince looked shocked, Hermione didn’t usually say anything too nice to her, she followed the rules but when it came to her she did not follow them nicely. Madam Pince nodded and watched her as she rushed for the door. She felt like something was not right with the young girl, but she was far too busy putting every book back in the exact right spot to do anything about it right now.

When Hermione got back to the common room none of her friends were about but at least it was busy. She looked around for a friendly face, being careful not to go anywhere near Ron who was tucked into a corner with Lavender Brown, Harry was nowhere to be found. She decided to go up to her dorm and add the finishing touches to her homework.

“You alright, Granger?” One of the twins asked her as she headed towards the stairs. She nodded and kept going, “I thought you were going to stay in that library for hours.” So it must be Fred. Hermione spun around, he had come up to her. “Madam Pince chase you out? Or did all that work finally get too boring for you and realised you need some Weasley fun?”

“Just felt like leaving,” Hermione said with a shrug, “it was too quiet in that stuffy room.” Fred let Hermione go as she said her goodbyes and walked away to her dorm. She was relieved when she walked in and saw only one of her room mates, Parvati Patil, was sat inside. She was on her bed on the opposite side of the room doing her own work. Both of the girls shared a similar work ethic, Hermione always assumed she wanted to keep up with her twin, a Ravenclaw, one of the smartest girls in their year. Parvati waved at Hermione as she walked in and Hermione waved back, she sat herself down on her own bed and set up her own work station for the night. The rest of their roommates were down stairs with a good portion of the Gryffindors, all crammed inside due to the poor weather. It would not be long until they all headed up stairs as it was beginning to get late and everyone had classes tomorrow.

Early the next morning Hermione woke up and began to get ready for the day. She had her first class, defence against the dark arts, with Ron and Harry that morning and was not looking forwards to having Lavender by their side as they walked to class. Hermione denied on all counts that she was jealous, the problem is that she could not stand the girl, she bothered her in every way possible and now she was dating Ron she saw more of her than she would ever want to in her lifetime. So Hermione was spending less and less time with Ron and while Harry was occupied with the Triwizard tournament she was spending less time with him as well. Both Ron and Harry were running late, like usual, so when they all left the common room Hermione was rushing them, she hated being late. On their way out of the common room Hermione spotted one of the twins in the corner with Angelina, Hermione guessed it must be George and felt bad for Fred, it was so unusual to see one without the other and knew Fred was probably lonely. But she had to push their problems aside and get on with her busy day ahead.

“So today,” Mad eye moody said as he limped towards the board. Hermione did not mind Professor Moody but she did not appreciate all of the teaching methods he used. “We shall be looking at introducing defensive spells and charms.” Hermione breathed a sigh of relief, surely this would not be as mad as some of their previous lessons. After a brief explanation of the spell they would be focusing on Mad eye paired everyone up and charmed the desks to remove them from the room. Hermione was now stood opposite a rather aggressive looking Ravenclaw girl. “Now remember,” Mad eye said as he walked around the room, “you are only to use disarming spells. We are not trying to kill one another now, understand?”

“Expelliarmus,” the girl facing Hermione shouted, Hermione forgot herself for a moment and missed her chance to defend herself, her wand flew from her hand and landed half way across the room. Hermione’s opponent looked rather pleased with herself.

“Granger!” Professor Moody snapped as he used a spell to return the wand back to its owner. “You need to try next time, maybe loosen up a little.”

“Hermione Granger loosening up,” Draco sneered, “never. She would rather die than ever have any kind of fun.” The rest of the class either giggled or hid their smiles and chuckles behind their hands. Hermione blushed, she looked at the door wishing she could make a graceful exited without causing even more of a commotion. She had to shrug it off and just get on with it. But what Draco had said stung more than she was ever willing to admit. She had fun, lots of fun in fact. Reading was fun right, she thought. Well she found reading fun and if it wasn’t for her friends being busy she would of been having even more fun recently. The rest of the lesson seemed to drag on for hours until she was allowed to escape.

“Draco Malfoy is being a major ass today,” Harry said as they left, “just ignore him, Hermione, of course we all have fun. Malfoy wouldn’t know real fun and friends if they came up and slapped him in the face.” Hermione shrugged, she did not care what Draco Malfoy thought of her, he was the least of her worries, but it worried her a little that everyone else thought she was this uptight bookworm. Of course Harry and Ron would say otherwise, they had to, they’re her friends. For the rest of the day Hermione couldn’t get the whole idea of being uptight and needing to loosen up out of her head. All she wanted to do was go to her spot in the library and surround herself with books, the books would not judge her, the books would not say mean things to her or make rude comments, Malfoy wouldn’t be in the library, she could be with herself since the boys were both busy after class anyway. So that is just what Hermione did. She set herself up in the same spot with her days work all laid around her. Hermione was content by herself and working on her homework, sure she kind of wished Harry wanted to hang out or that Ron didn’t have a girlfriend who Hermione couldn’t stand and clung onto him every spare second of every day, but homework was just fine. She was in her own world for a while until the noise of someone dropping books one by one caught her attention. She spun around and saw a shadow from the aisles. Just like the other day she felt watched.

This went on for a while. Every time Hermione was by herself in the library she felt as though someone was stood just out of sight watching her. It was rather irritating. And a little unnerving. A few weeks later she was sat with Harry who was researching merpeople opposite her. She hadn’t mentioned the figure who was always present when she studied, she did not see the need to do so, it wasn’t a problem per say, it was just a creepy irritation.

“Hermione,” Harry said without looking up from what he was currently doing.

“Yeah,” Hermione said also not looking up from what she was doing.

“Why is there some guy stood over there watching every move you make?” Harry asked. He looked over at Hermione who did not seem even a little bit surprised or concerned. This worried Harry, if Hermione was fine with this there must be something going on he did not know about.

“I have no idea.” Hermione said her eyes were still focused on the book in front of her.

“You seem rather relaxed about it,” Harry said, he turned to try and get a better look, he had rubbish eyesight but this guy was making sure no one could see him.

“It’s no big deal Harry,” Hermione said with a shrug. “Although I would like to know who my library stalker is.”

“Well let’s find out,” Harry said getting up from his chair, pulling his wand out of his pocket and firing a quick lumous in the direction of the shadowed guy, it was all so fast that Hermione did not have the opportunity to stop him. She watched as the darkened corner of the library burst into light. There stood with his hands now shielding his face was the star seeker, Viktor Krum. Hermione was shocked, why was this guy following her around, did her not have anything better to do? He ran to the exit before either Harry or Hermione could say a word to him.

“That’s bizarre,” Hermione said shifting uncomfortably. “Why is he spying on me?”

“I have no idea,” Harry said, he was also in shock. “Maybe you should stop hanging out alone in the library so much.” Harry suggested.

“Maybe you’re right.” Hermione said as they both started to pack away their things.


	2. Chapter 2

Fred had found himself without his right hand man more frequently than ever. They had never spent this much time apart before. Apart from when they were young children, and their mum would separate them when they got into trouble. George had even started sitting next to Angelina in some of their classes. He did not want to be the bad guy who told George he did not want him to be happy. But he also wanted his brother back. Fred would usually have Quidditch to keep him distracted, he would be able to train if George was busy, or prepare himself for an upcoming match. But since the Triwizard tournament was still on it meant Fred was forced to use up his time in some other way. He even tried to put some effort into his homework, but failed miserably since he just found all this school stuff so boring.

Hermione had to relocate, she could not go back to studying in the library and be watched day in and day out. The only issue was, where was she supposed to study now? The common room was always crowded with couples and their over the top public displays of affection. Her dorm was rarely ever quiet. And it was too cold to study by the lake at the moment. She was tempted to use empty class rooms when lessons were done for the day, but she did not need to get herself into trouble. 

So she started studying in the common room whenever it was quiet enough. Sometimes she got up early and started before everyone else woke up. Sometimes she squeezed in an hour before bed, she stayed up as late as she could on the weekends. Sometimes she would study while everyone rushed down to dinner, and eat slightly later than usual. Sometimes she even got up in the middle of the night. While she tried out her different study hours Hermione saw one face over and over. Fred Weasley, he always seemed to be about and he always seemed to be alone if Lee Jordan wasn’t around.

“Hey, Fred,” Hermione said as she sat down opposite the lonely looking twin. She could tell it was Fred since his identical was sat on the other side of the room with his girlfriend. “Mind if I sit here?” Hermione asked. The room was rather empty but she wanted some company and Fred looked as though he could do with the same.

“No, go right ahead,” Fred said as he cleared the other half of the table. None of the work around him had anything to do with school, it was all plans for their joke shop. Since he had solo time he thought he might as well get some useful work done. Although he was certain his parents would not see any of this as useful. They still thought he should buckle down and get some boring job at the ministry. His dad told him over and over that it is never too late to get good grades. They couldn’t see that some desk job was not something Fred could ever do. So he just needed to prove to them that their shop was a viable option. 

“Well this is a rare sight, a male Weasley who currently attends Hogwarts actually doing school work.” Hermione said as Fred grinned. “I’m shocked.” She took her books from her bag and placed them in front of her, opening up to the assignment she was currently working on. She looked over at the parchments lying in front of Fred, she couldn’t make out any of the words but she was beginning to get the feeling this wasn’t anything any teacher had assigned him.

“I think you will find Granger, that none of this is school work.” Fred said with a large smile across his face, “all of this is very important work, top secret important work.” Fred said in a very smug manor. He shuffled some papers around as he continued to give Hermione more space to work, after all she was far more intense that Fred ever could be. “So where are the other half of the golden trio tonight?” Fred asked, Hermione was still arranging her things, as though she wasn’t all that motivated today.

“I’m not too sure,” Hermione said with a shrug, “but I’m never that sure about what those two get up to at the moment.”

“Ron told me the other day that Krum is watching you in the library.” Fred said, he watched as Hermione roll her eyes. He could tell her being annoyed was a bit of an act though, since she also blushed and slumped down in her chair a little at the same time. “I think Ron may be a little jealous, I still think he has a thing for him even though he’s Harry’s big rival now. Ever find out why he’s stalking you and your books?”

“Nope,” Hermione said as she began to write down some notes from one of her textbooks. “It was just weird and kind of creepy.”

“Maybe her has a crush on you.” Fred suggested, Hermione’s head shot up and her eyes narrowed. She did not like the idea of this guy watching her let alone having some kind of crush on her. She had no interest in him. She was not interested in anyone who stalked her in that kind of way.

“I hope not,” Hermione sighed turning back to her work. “Ron told me the other day that you got another howler.” Hermione wanted to change the subject to something else, she didn’t like discussing Viktor Krum, he was one of her least favourite people, along with Voldermort and Draco Malfoy. She glanced up at Fred who shifted a little in his chair. The Weasley who was usually the most laid back and care free looked worried by Hermione’s chosen topic of conversation.

“Kind of,” Fred said with a shrug, “made everyone laugh though. Mother can be rather dramatic.” Fred said with a forced chuckle. Hermione glanced over at George who had untangled himself from Angelina and seemed to be doing some sort of work with her. She felt bad for Fred, she did not want him to feel left out or pressured in these ways, but his parents did sort of have a point. It wouldn’t hurt Fred to try a little harder.

“So why don’t you try a little?” Hermione said trying to sound as laid back as possible. She was not trying to start an argument here or upset Fred, she was just trying to help and she hoped he saw it that way.

“It’s all just so blah,” Fred said with a dramatic sigh and an over the top slump, he was making a joke out of this. Like he made a joke out of everything. “All the books and all the stupid pointless assignments, it just rots my brain. I’ve tried to tell them I am far too smart for the schools way of testing. I need to be challenged. But does anyone listen. No.”

“You just need someone to show you how it’s done.” Hermione said flipping through a rather heavy looking book. Fred was a little concerned that Hermione now had to carry everything around all day. “Get Ginny to tutor you or something.” She said with a smirk, she knew Fred would never go for anything like that. Fred rolled his eyes and shook his head.

“Alright Granger I have a proposal for you.” He said leaning forwards towards the young witch. Hermione glanced up, a little weired out that he was using the word proposal so easily in relation to her. But she was put at ease when she sure the smile on Fred’s face. His smile was infectious. Just being around him while he looked so happy made her feel happier. “Not only did my dear younger brother tell me about Viktor Krum, he also informed me of an encounter with a certain Draco Malfoy.” Hermione turned her gaze to the floor. She did not want to talk about this.

“I do not care what that idiot has to say about me.” Hermione said, she held her head up high when she was finished talking. It was of up most importance to her that she showed people that he did not get to her in the slightest.

Fred raised an eyebrow. He did not buy this act either. He had known Hermione since she was a tiny bushy haired first year, he could tell when she wasn’t being herself. “Hermione, come on. It’s just you and me talking here. I’m not going to say anything to anyone about what we’re talking about.” Hermione shrugged. “I am just saying we could help one another out here. You could help me study and I could help you have a bit more fun.”

Hermione considered his idea. She kind of liked it. She relished the idea of getting to help someone improve their academic work. Especially someone who had so much potential but did not seem to want to use it. But most of all, even though she would never admit it to anyone, not even herself, she wanted to spend more time with Fred doing something fun. She hadn’t seen too much of her other best friends lately so it wouldn’t hurt to have some fun time with Fred and it wouldn’t hurt to prove her classmates wrong.

“You have a deal, Weasley,” Hermione said as reached for the papers in front of Fred, she stacked them into a pile and filled the empty spot with a herbology book from her bag. She wasn’t bothered about which book it was, it was just supposed to be a symbol.

“I guess we’re starting now then?” Fred asked. Hermione nodded. “You don’t even know if I still take this class.” Fred pointed out. He was right, Hermione had no idea what Fred had chosen to take for his NEWTS. She would have to look at this syllabus and come up with a plan or just help him with his homework each night. She had the time, the assignment she was currently working on was only two paragraphs away from completion and then she had no other homework to do until Monday when classes began for the week. 

“You have a point,” Hermione said, “get me a copy of your courses and I’ll figure out the rest.”

“Well, since my tutoring is on hold, why don’t I get started on my side of the deal?” Fred suggested pushing the book Hermione had given to him back towards her. Hermione looked up at Fred as he got up from his chair and stood next to Hermione, “come on, put your books upstairs, we’re going out.” Fred said with a large grin, he rubbed his hands together.

“OK then,” Hermione said, she felt a little nervous what on earth would Fred have in mind? “What are we doing?”

“That’s going to be a surprise,” Fred said with a grin, Hermione looked worried, “come on Granger, relaxing is going to be a big part of this. So you may as well start liking it now.” Hermione rolled her eyes, grabbed her things and headed up towards her dorm. Fred waited as he tried to think of his plan before she got back.


	3. Chapter 3

Hermione returned to the common room, Fred was stood at the bottom of the stairs to the girls dormitories with a rather large grin on his face. Hermione grew hesitant. She had seen that look before, mostly on both twins at the same time, she knew that look. That look was often followed by some kind of rule breaking mischief. She began to double think the whole thing. What had seen gotten herself into?

“Part one of the plan,” Fred said before Hermione could say a word, “do you know where Harry keeps that special cloak of his?” Fred asked, he was bouncing on the balls of his feet, he looked as though he wanted to laugh out loud but was holding it in.

“How do you know about that?” Hermione asked, she wasn’t aware of how many people knew about Harry’s cloak, but she didn’t think Fred Weasley would be one of the people he had chosen to tell. Maybe Ron had let it slip once? Or maybe they found out last year when they got a hold of the map?

“Harry and I have talks,” Fred said with a shrug, “so do you know where he stores it?” Hermione worried about what they might be doing if it involved the need to be invisible.

“I mean probably his trunk, but I don’t know for sure. Sometimes he carries it around with him.” Hermione said looking around to try and make sure no one else was listening.

“Go get it.” Fred said gesturing to the stairs behind him. Hermione wasn’t sure if loosening up should involve stealing from her friends and sneaking around their dorms. “It’s just so we can sneak out of this place without being caught. We’ll use it just this once and put it right back. Promise.” Fred said holding his hand over his heart. “Scouts honour.” Hermione raised an eyebrow, how did he know this muggle phrase she wondered. “Something Lee Jordan said to George and I once.” Fred explained.

“I’m not doing it Fred,” Hermione said, she may want to loosen up and have fun but she wasn’t going to throw her morals out of the window, or completely change her whole personality. “But I do have another idea.” She said, Harry was sat in the corner of the common room with Neville Longbottom and Dean Thomas. “How about using the map instead?” Hermione suggested, “I’m sure he would have no problem letting us borrow that?”

“And how are you going to explain your desire to borrow it?” Fred asked. “I mean he’s attached to the map too.”

“Yes,” Hermione said with a small smile, “but I’ve borrowed the map before, you’re the one who gave it to him. I would be beyond worried about that cloak, it’s way more important to him,” Hermione said already formulating the little lie she was about to spin for Harry. “And leave the story to me, I have a brilliant idea.” Hermione walked over to Harry, gesturing that Fred should stay put for now.

“Hey Hermione,” Neville said with a smile, he was reading from a rather large looking Herbology text book. She did not recognise it as one of the ones they had been assigned. Had he picked up extra credit? Did she miss something professor Sprout had said or accidentally missed it when she picked up her books from the reading list? She needed to take a breath and relax, this was about relaxing and letting lose after all, not obsessing about school work. 

“What’s up, Hermione?” Harry asked, putting his quill down and giving her a smile. He looked happy to have a distraction.

“I was wondering if Fred and I could borrow something?” Hermione said, all three boys looked behind her to where Fred was waiting, he waved a little when they all looked over.

“Sure,” Harry said standing up, “what do you need?” He asked walking towards Fred.

“Would you mind if we used to the map for the night?” Fred asked. He assumed Harry wouldn’t mind too much, after all it had been the twins who had given him the map in the first place. If it wasn’t for them he wouldn’t even know about it.

“I guess,” Harry said turning to head to his dorm. “What do you need it for?” Harry said as all three walked up the stairs.

Hermione had figured Harry would ask about their intentions, he wasn’t one to ask too many questions, but Hermione knew he would want some kind of answer. She wasn’t even going to be lying to him, technically. She just wasn’t going to tell him everything, since Fred hadn’t told her everything. She was just going to drop a name or two she knew would convince him.

“After what Draco said in defence against the dark arts Fred and I have been working on something.” Hermione said glancing over and Fred who was leaning against one of the beds, he looked odd in Harry’s room, Fred was too tall or too relaxed or too something, it was just bizarre to see Fred stood there with no mirror image next to him.

“Here you go,” Harry said handing over the currently blank parchment. “Just give it back tomorrow or whenever you’re done.” He said, Fred took out his wand and pointed it at the currently concealed map.

“I solemnly swear I am up to no good.” Fred said without missing a beat. All three watched as the ink appeared tracing itself into the perfect map of Hogwarts. Little name tags appeared, walking their way from room to room. The map had always fascinated Hermione, even if she spent the rest of her school days working, she highly doubted she could even come close to what the Marauders had achieved. Her eyes scanned from room to room, until she found the tower in which the Gryffindor common room was located. It took her a second until she saw her own name stood next to Harry Potter and Fred Weasley.

“We’ll see you later Harry,” Fred said as he led Hermione out of his room and directly to the exit. “Stick close by,” Fred said, his eyes not leaving the map for a second. “No one’s about at the moment, but that could change,” Fred said as they hurried through the corridor and towards the stairs. “Could you provide a little light?” Fred asked.

“Lumos,” Hermione said as she held her wand out in front of her. She kept glancing over her shoulder convinced she had heard footsteps and or breathing. But just like the map said, there was no one there.

“Hold on a second,” Fred said coming to an abrupt stop. “Put it out.” He hissed. Hermione did as she was told. “Mischief managed.” Fred said quickly. Before Hermione could ask what was happening or who was coming, Fred grabbed her wrist and pulled her into a nearby room. Fred pressed his hand over Hermione’s mouth and pressed himself against her. Hermione felt her heart beating faster than usual, she hoped it was just due to the thrill of sneaking around and not because of the current position she found herself in with her current company. 

Fred smiled down at her, slowly taking away his hand, he held a finger up to his lips, signally they needed to be silent. He felt a little bad that Hermione looked so flustered right now, but he couldn’t deny that she looked kind of cute when she was distressed. He pushed that thought aside and pulled the map back out, activating it again and scanning the area they were currently hiding in.

“Fred?” Hermione said looking confused.

“Filch,” Fred said as he watched Filches name disappear around a corner. “Coast is clear.” Fred said opening the door for them. “Let’s go.”

“A little warning next time would be appreciated,” Hermione hissed as they walked towards the nearest exit. Fred was about to say that you don’t get prior warnings when on missions like this, that everything just happens, you have to just respond, not warn but he was too focused. He did not want to get Hermione into trouble, not on their first night of turning her into a free spirit who laughed in the face of detention. If they got caught now she would never do anything fun like this with him again, they would just have to spend their nights studying. And Fred could not have that.

Hermione kept walking until she realised they were stood outside and how cold the autumn air felt. She shivered as she wished she had grabbed her cloak and wasn’t just wearing her school robes.

“Where are we going Fred?” She whispered, she reached for her wand as she tried to remember some kind of spell that would warm her up right now.

“To the lake,” he said with a smile, “race you there.” He said before taking off at full speed to the calm strip of water that laid just beyond the Quidditch pitch. Hermione took a second to think about it, she could just turn back now, no hard feelings she just didn’t want to do this, she was cold and currently alone in the dark. But this was about developing herself, this was about trying new things and going outside of her comfort zone. So she took off at a sprint after Fred. “Come on Granger!” He called out, “keep up.” 

Hermione did not think of herself as an athletic kind of person, she couldn’t fly, run, or lift anything heavy without a wand. But Fred, although brilliant at wizard sports, also was not the fastest runner. He did not like having to run places but he could see the lake now, and he had a fairly decent head start. But he was starting to run out of air in his lungs and his legs were on fire. 

“Come on Weasley,” Hermione shouted out as she ran just past Fred, “I thought you were supposed to be in good shape.” Hermione smiled as she saw Fred struggling to keep up, he’d taken off too fast and couldn’t keep up that speed. Hermione collapsed by the lake when she got there with a big smile on her face. She did not care how but she had beaten someone in an impromptu race and she felt on top of the world. Fred knew he was already doing his job right when he saw her face.

“Congrats,” he said as he leaned over, they both took a moment or two to get their breath back. “Now it’s time to get down to the real fun.” Fred picked up his wand and walked over to the lake.

“What exactly is the plan?” Hermione asked following. Fred smiled and leaned down to the water. It took him a moment to make sure he was doing the spell correctly but when he was sure nothing would go wrong he recited the spell they’d learnt in charms last week, perfectly. Hermione watched the water slightly confused when nothing seemed to happen. “Not to be rude Fred, but what was supposed to happen?” Fred’s smile didn’t change. He touched the water and immediately knew he’d done everything perfectly. Rather than the water feeling icy cold, his hand was greeted to warm water, the kind of temperature you’d find in a bathtub.

“What was supposed to happen is that water turns warm,” Fred said standing back and up and beginning to remove his robes. “We’re going for a late night swim.” Fred explained. Hermione had to tear her eyes away as Fred got down to a dangerous amount of clothing. She felt her cheeks warming as she turned around unsure of what to do with herself. She waited until she heard a splash and turned around Fred was fully submerged into the water, all his clothes sat close by. Including his underwear. “Come on.” Fred called from the water, “I promise it’s nice and warm.”

Fred wasn’t sure if Hermione was going to along with it. He’d taken care of the temperature but it was down to her to let go and have fun. “Promise I won’t look.” He waited as Hermione slowly removed her robes. Sure he found Hermione not bad on the eyes but he would never hurt his younger brother by looking at Hermione that way. Ron had never said he fancied Hermione but anyone with eyes could tell that he liked Hermione as more than a friend. Fred turned around and waited until he heard a splash from behind him. Before he could turn around her felt a small wave of water hit him from behind and soaked his hair. Hermione was submerged up her neck but she was laughing and Fred splashed back.

The pair spent longer than either had planned playing in the water. Hermione was careful the entire time not to reveal herself to the Weasley but she often found herself just enjoying the moment. Fred was doing a very good job.

They made it back to the common room without any incident’s. Fred felt rather proud of himself that he managed to pull the evening off without either landing themselves in detention. He was also rather proud of the fact that he had contributed to the smile currently on Hermione’s face.

“So did you have fun?” Fred asked as he walked her to he bottom steps of the girls dorms. He’d tried to walk up the steps with George before but found themselves thrown back down each time they tried.

“I did, thank you Fred,” Hermione said smiling, “I never thought I would be the kind of person who would enjoy sneaking around, or skinny dipping but I guess I am.”

“I guess I’ll see you tomorrow,” Fred said, he felt himself wanting to lean in and hug her goodbye or something, but instead he settled for a smile and a nod before he walked away.


	4. Chapter 4

Hermione had found out she could be the kind of person who enjoyed herself, who lets loose, who gets lost in a moment, who does something other than reading for fun. And that was all thanks to Fred Weasley. She wasn’t sure why or how but Fred managed to make her forget about grades, forget about rules and just be in the moment. At least for an hour or two. Harry had asked her, on more than one occasion, about her relationship with Fred and why they had been spending so much time together. He knew that Ron wouldn’t be too thrilled if he knew. But he was also way too wrapped up with Lavender to even notice. 

Fred had found out he could be the kind of person who studied for tests, who did their homework the day it was assigned and actually read text books rather than use them to steady a wobbly table. And that was all thanks to Hermione Granger. Even though she had not started the material they covered in sixth year, she had made a schedule for him and sat with him at least three times a week to help him study. After a month of this he could manage the material for himself, they just studied together for motivational purposes. Or at least that’s what they both told themselves. George had noticed Hermione hanging around with Fred more often, but he didn’t want to ask why or point out they’re younger brother might get jealous. In a way George was just glad someone was helping Fred out. And that Hermione seemed a lot happier.

“So what’s the plan for today?” Hermione asked. It was a Saturday, and as long as all of their work was under control, the agreement was for Fred to manage their free time on the weekends. They were walking side by side down to get breakfast. Neither was in any kind of hurry, both of them looked forwards to spending weekends together. They had fallen into becoming rather good friends. The weather wasn’t helping them out much, snow had begun to fall so they were forced to spend their days inside.

“You’re not going to like it,” Fred said with his infamous grin creeping onto his face. He had thought about seeing if Hermione would push herself this far or it was a push too far. But she was surprising him more and more each day. It was something he thought might help Hermione out around boys as well. She had never told Fred outright that she had any interest in Ron but it was pretty obvious. So Fred wanted to help Hermione move on a little.

“Well, spit it out then, Fred,” Hermione said as they rounded the corner and walked towards the entrance of the great hall. Only a few other students were seated, they had taken their time strolling through the corridors but it was still quite early.

“You’re going to select an age appropriate, good looking, single, young man, walk up to him and kiss him.” Fred said in a casual manner that Hermione thought was more suited to reading a shopping list. She did not want to just go up and randomly kiss someone she hardly knew.

“I think someone has been slipping crazy potions into your pumpkin juice.” Hermione said with a chuckle as they sat down.

“Now, now, Hermione. I may be a good humoured, laid back kind of wizard, who tells an awful lot of good jokes, but this is not one of them.” Fred said as he reached for some toast. “Go ahead, pick him out. Just try not to make it Malfoy.”

“As if I would ever kiss that greasy idiot.” Hermione said. She looked over to the Slytherin table just to make sure he wasn’t there, she did not want to have any kind of romantic run ins with one of the people she hated the most. “Come on Fred, can’t we just do something else? I know it’s getting cold and we’re stuck inside but there’s still plenty of non kissing things we could get up to.” Hermione said, she looked over at the pile Fred had gathered on his plate. For some reason she suddenly did not feel very hungry.

Fred knew this one might take more time to marinade before Hermione agreed. He was not expecting an easy ride and Hermione did not disappoint. But he wanted Hermione to do this, it would do wonders to help her new fun reputation. He was also curious as to who Hermione had her eye on. Sure there was Ron, but Hermione was at an age when boys and girls start to notice one another as something other than the disgusting other gender with cuties. He remembered being at that age as well. He remembered all these girls were talking to him and giggling and flipping their hair. He remembered laughing at their jokes too and slouching against walls while he tried to look cool. Hermione was the age he was when he had his first real kiss with Katie Bell under the Quidditch stands after a match one day.

“Hermione, I’m telling you this is going to help you with guys in the future. You won’t have to be nervous around them, or worry about boys, or having your first kiss when all the other girls are worried because you’ve been there and done that. Now who is going to be the lovely young boy?” Fred asked. He knew a lot of the Gryffindors and some random student’s in Hermione’s year but beyond that he had no clue who might pop into Hermione’s mind. “And you can’t pick Harry.” Fred said.

“Why on earth would I choose Harry?” Hermione whispered not wanting anyone to overhear them talking about kissing Harry Potter.

“Because he’s your friend and you could just explain it away later.” Fred said, “And Ron’s out, they have to be single, we’re not going around destroying relationships.”

“I wouldn’t want to kiss Ronald anyway.” Hermione said sticking her nose in the air a little. She was over Ron. She was so far over Ron that she was never into him in the first place. At least that’s what she told herself.

“Sure,” Fred said a smile, “come on look around, more people are awake now. Let’s find you a man. How about him?” Fred suggested gesturing towards Neville Longbottom who was walking towards them. “I’m sure he would be more than willing.”

“You know I’m friends with him too right? I could just explain to him later as well.” Hermione pointed out quietly, she really did not want Neville overhearing their conversation. Fred shrugged and both of them fell quiet as Neville sat down next them and said hello. Hermione kept scanning the crowd as the hall filled up. She considered each guy she saw before dismissing each one of them for one reason or another. Either she knew them too well or not well enough, too old, too young, too popular, too slimy, too tall, too short, too in a relationship. Whatever the reason she knew she had no real interest in kissing any of them. She considered just picking one of their visitors from Dumstrung, but just looking over at Viktor Krum and got the creeps.

Fred waited as he watched Hermione pick at her breakfast while she attempted to pick a boy. He considered just coming up with something else, maybe this was a step too far for her. Maybe it would need another year before she would want to do anything like that. He was not going to push her any further than he already had, he had to let her do this on her own now.

“I could chose any boy from your year at random if you want,” Fred suggested, she just shook her head, Hermione had gone quiet on him and he was worried about what that might mean. He saw his twin walk into the room and was reminded of all the weekends they spent together coming up with pranks and jokes and challenging each other to do stupid things. It had been a while since Fred had spent a day outside of class with George. When he saw him Fred kind of hoped he would be alone, of course he was wrong. George was rarely alone anymore, coming up right behind him was Angelina. Fred turned away, he would just have to catch up with him later. Now that all of his older brothers had graduated Fred only spent time with Ginny now days and that made him feel a little sad. Not that he would ever admit that out loud.

“I think I’ve chosen,” Hermione said snapping Fred out of his own thoughts. Hermione wondered what Fred had been thinking since he had been starring off into space for the last few minutes. But she wasn’t going to ask him, she knew that Fred wasn’t the sharing his emotions type, he would most likely just make a joke anyway.

“So whose the lucky boy?” Fred asked.

“Him,” Hermione said pointing out a boy on the opposite end of the Gryffindor table, “Cormac McLaggen.” It took a moment for Fred to pick him out of the crowd. Fred noted that Hermione had picked out a rather popular, good looking guy. He had seen him around the common room but never had he seen Hermione interacting with him before. Maybe this was her secret crush? Fred felt uneasy about Hermione choosing him but he wasn’t going to say anything, not when Hermione was going along with this.

“So what’s your plan?” Fred asked as they both stood up from the table.

“It was your idea, why am I coming up with the plan?” Hermione asked nudging Fred with her elbow.

“Why not?” Fred said with a smirk, they lingered by the entrance as more students arrived for breakfast and the early risers left to get started with their days. “Besides if you come up with the plan it’s easier to execute.”

“I guess,” Hermione said as she kept her eyes on Cormac, she wasn’t sure how she was going to pull this off or how she was going to get him away from all of his friends. She had seen him around before and thought it was fairly attractive, but she had never had a conversation with him without Harry or Ron being around. “I’m going to need your help getting him alone.” Hermione said. She may need to formulate the plan but Fred could at least help her out.

“No problem,” Fred said.

“You’ll wait here until he leaves,” Hermione said as they moved to a corner where no one would overhear their conversation, “then lead him outside the main entrance where I’ll be waiting. Then I will come over and say hello or whatever and then I’ll take over from there.”

As Hermione walked outside, Fred started to think up a way to get Cormac to follow him outside. He had never spoken to him before, they weren’t in the same year and all they appeared to have in common was the house they were in. He would have to use that to his advantage. He waited to the side until he saw Cormac leave with a small crowd of friends following.

“Hey,” Fred said walking up and turning on the Weasley charm. “It’s Cormac right? Cormac McLaggen?” He asked. The tallest one of the bunch came to a stop and turned to face Fred. He looked confused as to why Fred was talking to him.

“Yeah?” Cormac said, the rest of his friends stood nearby waiting for him.

“Professor McGonagall asked me yesterday to talk to you about something important,” Fred said with an easy smile and without blinking. He was a decent liar, and when it came to someone who was practically a stranger, he considered lying a piece of cake. “Do you mind if we speak? In private?” Fred asked glancing towards the friends Cormac had waiting.

“I guess,” he said waving his friends to go on without him. “What’s it about?”

“The Quidditch team,” Fred said without a second thought. The idea rolled off of his tongue before Fred had even thought of it. “She wanted me to talk to you about maybe shadowing George and I, we need to be practising even if we’re not playing, and it’s our last year next year so we need to find some new potential beaters to start training.” Fred rambled as he made his way to the exit. For this to work though, Fred knew that he needed Cormac to be interested in playing Quidditch. Fred couldn’t remember if he had even seen him at try outs before. But he looked like the athletic type.

“Wouldn’t Wood be the one to make those decisions?” Cormac asked. Did he really need to be asking questions?

“With it being Wood’s last year, McGonagall is setting things up for when he leaves.” Fred said glad that he had just caught sight of Hermione, he didn’t want this to end up with him digging himself a hole to try and escape from.

“Fred!” She said as she walked towards them. “What a surprise to see you.” She said a little too loud and a little too enthusiastic.

“Hey Hermione,” Fred said with a smile.

“Hi, Granger,” Cormac said turning away from Fred. It did not surprise Fred that Cormac knew who she was, everyone at Hogwarts knew who she was. “I was just talking to Weasley here about Quidditch.” He said as he flipped his hair from his face. Fred knew right there and then that he would not say no to kissing Hermione. Even if it was just because she was one of the three most well known students currently in attendance at Hogwarts.

“Oh right,” Hermione said shifting uncomfortably. What was she supposed to say now? She had not thought this all the way through. She had rushed in without planning every second. It went against her nature, but she knew that was one of the reasons she had gotten into this deal with Fred in the first place. 

“Yeah, I’m going to be taking over with Oliver leaving this year.” Cormac said with a smile, “I must have been the obvious choice.”

“Fred could you give us a minute?” Hermione asked. She knew very little about Quidditch and did not want to nod and smile her way through this interaction.

“Sure,” Fred said giving her a small wave and wink goodbye. He walked far enough away that Cormac would not see him watching from behind a nearby tree.

“So, Granger, what’s up?” Cormac asked. Hermione stalled for a moment. Should she make a reason as to why they should kiss, or just go for it? She stood silent for a moment before making up her mind.

“I just wanted to try something,” Hermione said avoiding all eye contact. Cormac was a lot taller than she thought he would be close up, she took a step towards him, stood on her tip toes and went for it. At first she could tell he was stunned, he was still for a few moments, his hands hand just moved to her waist when she pulled away and took off back towards the castle, leaving Cormac confused and a little intrigued.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the comments and all the kudos.


	5. Chapter 5

After the experience that was kissing Cormac, Hermione found herself the centre of a new kind of gossip. Now rather than her name being linked with Harry Potter’s it was Cormac. Although she wasn’t sure where all the fuel for the fire was coming from. She avoided him as much as she physically could. She appreciated what Fred had done for her but she did not appreciate what back lash it had caused.

At first Fred was enjoying the spectacle that was the Hermione and Cormac show. It didn’t take long for it to become annoying. And he couldn’t put his finger on why. It’s not like he had any interest in Hermione that way and he had no ill feelings for this Cormac lad. But he just did not like hearing about them all day long. Half of the things he heard he also knew for a fact were false. Like that Hermione and Cormac had been dating for the entire year and this was the first time they had kissed in public.

“I really hope that everyone gets over this soon,” Hermione said as she followed Fred back to the common room, he was strutting a little faster than usual that day and Hermione was having a hard time keeping up. “I haven’t even spoken to him since, how can people be so gullible.”

“Well you know how badly things get out of hand at this school.” Fred said suppressing a sigh. He had heard so many claims flying around in the last few years, many of which involved his family. It was just starting to get boring. Couldn’t people find other people to lie about? “Anyway, I think some of my professors are starting to think I’m cheating or something.”

“What?” Hermione asked coming to an abrupt stand still. Fred turned back to face her and pulled his latest essay from his bag handing it to Hermione. At the top in red Professor McGonagall had written a note asking Fred to stay after class tomorrow. “And how does that say she thinks you’re cheating?” Hermione asked, Fred was just being a little paranoid.

“She never just asks to see somebody without a good reason.” Fred stated. They began walking back towards the common room at a manageable speed.

“I think you’re over thinking this, Fred,” Hermione stated handing him back the essay. “You’ve got top marks. Maybe she wants to say well done in person or something.” Fred shrugged, it was going to take more than that to convince him otherwise.

The next day Fred tried not to let his mind wander to his upcoming Transfiguration class.

“Fred, you alright, you’ve been quiet all day?” George asked as they sat down, a little earlier than Professor McGonagall. They had done a quick scan of the room when they had first walked in for any signs of her cat form, they had learnt that lesson in their first year about talking around any felines.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Fred said with smile, “maybe a little tired.” He said trying not to look George directly in the eye.

“You sure this has nothing to do with Hermione Granger?” George asked nudging him a little with his elbow. George had noted how often he had seen the two together. He had been meaning to have an honest and frank twin to twin discussion with him at some point and there was no time like the present. But he also had to tread carefully around the topic, he wanted them to be friends but not at the cost of Ron’s feelings.

“Why would Hermione have anything to do with me being quiet?” Fred asked as he began to get out his text books. He was surprised George had even mentioned anything, it wasn’t like he hung out with Fred that much anymore. He did not want to say anything like that to George though, he hated arguing with him and arguing over girls was pointless.

“Well, I’ve just noticed that you two seem to be spending an awful lot of time together. Alone together. If you catch my drift.” George said, “not that it’s any of my business and if you two want to be good friends I think that’s great. I’m just not sure Ron would feel the same way. I think he still has feelings for her, whether he’s got a girlfriend or not.”

“I think Ron must have noticed something,” Fred said, his tone gave off that he was a little annoyed, “if he doesn’t like Hermione having friends then he should say something.” Fred said pretending to take an interest in reorganising the order of his parchment.

“And I’m sure you’re right.” George said, he wasn’t expressing himself very well, he needed Fred to know that sure everyone can be friends with who they want but that doesn’t mean friends won’t lead to strong feelings. George had just opened his mouth to continue, when the door opened and the rest of the class begun to filter in. They would have to finish their conversation another time. Professor McGonagall walked through the door and the twins focused on the lesson for the day.

As the class drew to a close Fred hung back, shuffling his books and parchment around. He did not want the fact that he had to talk to McGonagall to be obvious.

“Aren’t you coming?” George asked gesturing towards the door. “Free period is like your favourite subject.” He said trying to lighten the mood a little.

“I’ve got to see McGonagall.” Fred said with a shrug, “but I’ll catch you later.” He said heading towards the front of the room. George nodded with a small shrug and left with the rest of the students.

“You wanted to see me professor,” Fred said feeling a little awkward. He did not like being one on one alone with teachers. He normally always had someone to back him up, and most of the time it was George which always made all his professors confused as to which twin was Fred and which twin was George. It usually worked in their favour.

“Yes, Mr. Weasley I did,” Professor McGonagall said, “I wanted to speak with you about your grades and work in class.” She stood next to her desk, she held a stack of parchment in her hands. Fred was usually fairly decent at reading other people, but McGonagall had her usual displeased tone she usually wore when speaking to Fred about his school work. Here it comes, Fred thought. He was certain she would never believe him when he would tell her he was just trying now. He was sure she accuse him of all sorts of things. He tried to keep his face neutral and not react before he knew what he was going to be accused of. “I am very pleased at the marked improvement you’ve been showing.”

Fred was stunned into silence for a moment. “Thanks.”

“I want you to keep it up. I don’t know what’s changed but that last essay you submitted was at a higher standard than I’ve seen you accomplish in some time.” She said with a smile. “Now if only some of your new work ethics could rub off onto Ronald.” Fred chuckled a little.

“I doubt it,” Fred said with a shrug. He did not want to get into the details as to why.

“Well, I’ll see you tomorrow Mr. Weasley,” she said turning back to her desk.

“Bye, professor,” he said turning to leave the room. Whatever he had been expecting from this meeting it had not been along those lines.

“So how did it go?” Hermione asked that evening as they took up their usual seats in the common room and began to spread their work around the table. When they had started their arrangement they had picked quieter times to utilise the common room, but now they studied together they found it was easier to block out all the noise and focus.

“Huh?” Fred was unsure as to what Hermione was referring to.

“What did Professor McGonagall want?” She asked, she had been curious the entire day. She hadn’t been able to catch Fred at dinner or in between her classes. For a moment she thought she had seen him in the dungeons as she made her way to potions, but quickly noted the girl on his arm meant she has passed by the wrong twin.

“It was the strangest thing,” Fred said with a small smirk, “she wanted to say she was happy to see I had improved so much. She said she wants me to rub you onto Ron.” He almost burst into laughter when he saw Hermione’s eyes shoot open and her mouth hung even larger, her cheeks were a brighter shade of red than his hair. He had never witnessed Hermione look so lost for words before.

“What?” Hermione said coming back to her senses. She must have misheard Fred, or he wasn’t telling her the whole story, she knew there was no way that Professor McGonagall would ever say something like that to a student, or to anyone for that matter. “She did not say that.”

“Well her words were more along the lines of, my new work ethic rubbing off on Ronald. And since that new work ethic has come from you, I just connected the dots.” Fred said laughing a little now. “Glad to see I can fool you that easy.”

The two worked opposite one another for the next few hours until all their work was done. If Fred wasn’t there Hermione probably would have continued working, over reading her text books and making extensive notes. But once Fred had finished everything he needed to do he reached over and closed the book Hermione was reading from.

“So, what do you want to do now?” Fred asked. It was a Friday night and Fred fancied having some fun. They hadn’t done anything big together since the Cormac incident, so Fred figured it was about time they did something exciting. Hermione shrugged as she put her books back into her bag and rolling up the essay she had been working on.

“I could quiz you for that test you’ve got next week?” Hermione sarcastically suggested. Fred shook his head with a sigh.

“And here I thought we were making progress.” Fred said with a chuckle as he rolled his eyes. “My brains finished with school for the day. Let’s get out of this castle and do something.” Fred said standing up and making a big deal over stretching.

“Fred, it’s freezing outside.” Hermione pointed out. But yet she followed him towards the exit of the common room where a group of second year girls stood whispering and giggling as they stared at Hermione.

“Wait here, I forgot something,” Fred said turning back towards his dorm. Hermione went to protest. She felt as though she had been hung on display in a museum or something. The girls didn’t quiet their whispering and she heard them laughing as they spoke her name. It was almost refreshing not to hear Harry’s name in the same sentence. Instead it seemed as though all the attention was meant just for her. 

It felt like an eternity before Fred returned, with two brooms placed on his shoulder. He looked far too proud of himself, in Hermione’s opinion. He knew how much Hermione hated flying and how hopeless she was. This felt like a step too far.

“Come on, Fred,” Hermione said following him into the corridor. It was still rather early in the evening so a lot of people were hanging around and making their way back from dinner. People stared at Fred as he carried the brooms outside, no one had been doing much flying since Quidditch had been replaced for the year. “You know how I feel about this. You said I wouldn’t get seriously injured when we made this deal. I highly doubt you will be able to uphold that promise if you put me on a broom.” Hermione continued, trying to get Fred to change his mind as she followed him from the building.

“Hermione, relax.” Fred said spinning around and narrowly missing hitting a passerby in the head. “You’ll be fine, I promise.” He said placing a hand on her shoulder. After a moment or two, Fred continued and Hermione silently followed.

Once outside Hermione wrapped her arms around herself, as she felt the bitter wind whip her hair unruly around her face. Fred lead Hermione towards the Quidditch pitch, he hadn’t taken the cold into account until now. Sometimes being so spontaneous had it’s downsides.

“Let’s just go back inside. I’m freezing already,” Hermione said pulling out her wand. The weather was making it hard for her to remember any useful spells. Fred placed the brooms on the floor and pulled out his own wand.

“Accio jacket.” Fred said pointing his wand towards the castle. They had learnt to charm not long ago, Fred knew he just needed to picture his jacket clearly and it would be in his hands in no time. “Here.” Fred said as the jacket landed in his hands. Hermione wrapped the jacket around herself, already warming up. “I want to take you on a tour of this place that you’ve never been on before.”

“I am never going to be able to keep up with you Fred.” Hermione said as Fred handed her a broom. “Seriously, I have trouble just staying in the air.”

“Well, let me see,” Fred said as he took off on his broom. “Come on Hermione!” Fred called out. Hermione sighed, as she wiped her sweaty palms on her jeans before kicking off into the air. Straight away she wobbled as she tried to climb to the same height as Fred.

“I don’t like this!” She called gripping onto the wood beneath her fingers, doing her best to stay upright. Fred descended and headed in her direction, he had a feeling this wasn’t going to go as well as he had hoped.

“You’re doing fine.” He said, helping to steady the broom and stay still. “Just very gently go forwards. Don’t try to get any more altitude, just focus on going straight.” Hermione leaned forwards a little, doing her best to keep her composure and stay in an upright position. After a few inches Hermione felt a strong wind hit her from behind. She lost her sense of balance for a moment and yelped as she grasped onto the broom for dear life.

“I really don’t think I can do this, Fred.” Hermione said, feeling the tears begin to build up. She could do nothing to wipe them away, she was terrified of the idea of letting go. “Please, Fred. I want to go back down. I’ll just watch from the stands. Please.” Fred watched as Hermione got even more upset, the more scared she became the worse her flying got.

“I have another idea.” Fred said pulling up besides her. “First, I’ll help you back to the ground.” He said taking her broom in one hand and guiding her back down. As Hermione’s feet hit solid ground she let out a sound of relief and allowed the broom to slip from her grasp and drop to grass beneath her feet.

“I know I’m supposed to be loosening up,” Hermione said, using Fred’s jacket sleeve to wipe away her tears. “But this is more like my idea of hell. I’d rather kiss Draco Malfoy himself than do that again.” Hermione said trying to make a joke out of the situation. She hated herself for letting Fred see her cry. 

Fred watched as Hermione tried to compose herself, he felt so bad that he had scared her so much. He wanted to make up for it and show her that flying could be a huge thrill.

“How about we try something else?” Fred said picking up his own broom once again. Hermione looked hesitant to agree as she shrugged a little. “Hop on behind me.”

Hermione took a small step backwards. “I don’t know, Fred.” Hermione said making her way towards the edge of the pitch.

“Come on. I’m an amazing flyer, I won’t go too fast, and if you want to stop at any time we can.” Fred said taking her hand and and guiding her into the right position on the broom before getting himself into place. “You can trust me, I promise. Just hold on tight.” Fred said as he was about to take off.

“To what?” Hermione said not wanting to get too close to Fred. She felt self conscious all of a sudden, and she did not want to distract him in any way.

“To me silly.” Fred said as he took off a little. “Or you’ll just be scared again. I promise you no matter how hard you squeeze, I’ll be just fine.” Hermione moved forwards as she wrapped her arms around Fred’s body and lent against his back. The impact it had her was almost instant. She didn’t feel cold anymore, or all that nervous, she just felt…safe.

Fred took off towards the castle, being careful not to go at a full out speed like he had with George when they raced in the past. They flew above the rooftops and over the rivers. Hermione couldn’t believe the amazing view and they climbed even higher. She could even see some of the dents in the roof from the dragon Harry had to face not long ago.


	6. Chapter 6

“See, now that wasn’t so bad was it?” Fred said with a large smile as he landed back by the edge of the pitch. He could still feel Hermione shaking like a leaf behind him, her arms not budging, still wrapped tightly around him. 

“That was the scariest thing I have ever done.” Hermione said, she had yet to let go of Fred, something inside of her was refusing to let go and she did not want to think too much about why. Fred didn’t say anything either, it kind of felt nice. Not that he would of ever spoken that out loud. He had grown close with Hermione since school started. But Fred always assured himself that even when he thought Hermione was being cute or how funny she could be, or that he didn’t see her as his little brothers best friend anymore, he would never be more than a friend to her. He would never betray Ron in that way.

“Come on now, you’ve done way scarier stuff than that.” Fred said as she finally loosen her grip and hopped off the broom. Hermione shrugged as she picked up her bag and both made their way back towards the castle.

“Wait what time is it?” Hermione asked, sure it was a Friday night but they still had a curfew.

“Dunno, like nine.” Fred said leading the way. “But we’ve snuck in and out this place after hours before.” No one else was around anymore, but Fred was sure they had a little bit of time to get back to the common room without the need to go sneaking around.

“Yes, but usually we had the map, or something to help us get back inside.” Hermione said as they approached the doors. Fred agreed, Harry was always willing to let them utilise the map. But Hermione was sure he was becoming suspicious as to why her and Fred spent so much time together, alone.

“I have an idea.” Fred said, climbing onto one of the brooms again. Hermione couldn’t believe it. He wanted her to get on one of those things again? “I knew you weren’t going to like it, but it’s like on quick flight to that window.” Fred said pointing above them. “And then a quick walk back to the common room. It’ll be less than a minute.”

“But what about the other broom?” Hermione asked. “There’s no way I’m only holding on with one hand.”

“Well I am sure, in that bushy head of yours, you know a spell that might help.” Fred said poking her on the forehead. Hermione wrinkled her nose and swatted his hand away, but she couldn’t hide her smile as she self consciously patted down her hair. Hermione shrugged before climbing back on, her stomach dropping at the thought of another ride. She had enjoyed the night time over head tour, it had been beautiful but that didn’t mean she suddenly loved heights, or flying for that matter. At least flying with Fred was a hole lot better than flying solo. In missed Fred a lot when he wasn’t around, studying in her dorm just didn’t feel right, and when she sat with Harry and Ron for dinner or breakfast rather than Fred her thoughts always went back to him.

“I’ll use your handy dandy summoning spell.” Hermione said, once again wrapping her arms around his middle. Her heart wasn’t pounding as hard as the last time but it was still a relief to be on solid ground when he climbed through the window. Once they were both safely inside and she had pulled the other broom through the window, the pair took off down the corridor.

“Wait here,” Fred said, “Lumos.” Fred peered around the corner, walking ahead a little to ensure the coast was clear. Hermione stood motionless in the candle light listening to Fred’s footsteps and making sure his were the only ones she could hear. She heard his footsteps running back in her direction. “Come on.” He said holding onto her hand and leading the way. They went on like this until they were close to the fat lady.

“There’s just one more turn and then we should be alright.” Fred whispered looking around the corner. “Nox.” They waited together for a moment, listening for anyone who might be heading in their direction, the pair could only hear both of their heavy breaths. Just as Hermione was about to take a step out into the corridor, from the door way they hiding in, Fred pulled her back inside. 

Once again he was pressed against her body, holding one hand over her mouth. Hermione felt her heart beat a little faster and her palms growing a little sweaty as he crushed himself against her, squeezing his eyes shut, one of her hands still firmly in his. Hermione thought for one startling moment that he was leaning his face down towards her. Just as soon as she felt him lean closer he pulled away looking outside but not moving his body far from hers. He kind of liked being close to her, it reminded him of their first ever night of their deal, sneaking around and having fun.

“Coast is clear.” He whispered pulling his hand away, but still not stepping back. “Sorry, I saw someone coming. Let’s go.” They once again and took off towards the entrance of the common room, still holding hands.

Fred laid in the bed that night, listening to his roommates snoring, unable to sleep. He couldn’t help but think of the move he almost made. He couldn’t believe he had leaned towards Hermione, letting the part of himself that found her so cute take over. The part that wanted to kiss her so badly. He would have to make sure he kept himself in check, there was no way he could let that happen. He was certain that Hermione didn’t see him in that way at all.

The following weekend Hermione found herself sat opposite Harry at lunch. Ron sat next to Harry, wrapped around Lavender. The food piled onto the plate in front of him was growing cold. Both Harry and Hermione were doing their best to ignore the very public display of affection.

“Hello there,” Fred said sliding next to Hermione, it took him a second to notice his little brother. “Wow I just lost my appetite.” He said switching to sit on Hermione’s other side, they all shuffled down a little, as did everyone on the other side of the couple. “So I guess we all know who Ron is taking to the Yule ball.”

“I think it would kill them to spend the evening apart.” Harry said with a small smile. “Who are you going with Fred?” This was something Fred had to yet to figure out. He wasn’t all that bothered about attending at all. Before Fred and George would have used the evening for some pranking fun, but Fred knew George would want to spend it dancing with Angelina now. Same went for Lee.

“Haven’t given it much thought.” Fred said with a shrug. “Any special lady in your life, Harry?”

“Not currently,” Harry mumbled with a sort of huff, staring down at the table. Fred got the feeling that there was a girl he liked, but everything with Harry’s life always seemed so complex, so why would his love life be any different?

“He wants to ask this Ravenclaw he has got a huge crush on. Cho Chang.” Hermione whispered leaning towards Fred so no one could overhear them. They turned to face the Ravenclaw table and Hermione subtly pointed towards Cho who was sat eating with her friends. “But he hasn’t plucked up the courage yet.”

“Hermione,” Harry hissed, glancing around to try and ensure that no one could hear their conversation and that Cho hadn’t noticed them spying.

“No one’s listening Harry,” Hermione said rolling her eyes. And now came the question Fred was dreading, he had been debating whether to ask Hermione or not all day. He was certain he wouldn’t be happy with any answer she would give.

“How about you, Granger?” Fred said, trying to ask in a way that made him sound indifferent and casual. He’d been practising in his head all day. In his own opinion, he’d nailed the tone he was going for perfectly. 

“Nope, no ones asked me.” Hermione said with a shrug. She was lying to both of them. She had found Crookshanks playing with a piece of parchment that morning. After wrestling with the ginger cat for a few minutes she’d discovered it was a note that must have been delivered without her notice the previous evening. Viktor Krum wanted her to be his date to the ball. She had thrown the parchment into the fire place of the common room without a second thought. “I’m not all that bothered about going.”

“Oh come on, Hermione, you’re one of the champions best friends, you’ve got to come.” Harry said. Harry had in the back of his mind that if Cho said no and, no one asked her, Hermione could always be his back up. “Please, it’ll be fun.”

“I’ve got an idea,” Fred said scraping his food around his plate as he tried not to look at Hermione’s face he didn’t want to see her reaction to what he was about to suggest. “We could always go together.”

“Sorry, Fred, you’re just not my type,” Harry said with a smirk, “you see, you’re far too tall for me.” Fred couldn’t help but smile, he always had appreciated a quick come back or a smart joke.

“Harry, you have no idea how much that hurts me inside. But I was referring to our good friend, Hermione.” Fred said finally turning to face her. She was a little flushed but she didn’t looked horrified by the thought of going to the ball with him. In fact she was smiling.

Hermione had been dreading the whole stupid idea of a ball. Her association with the great Harry Potter himself always meant someone was staring at her. And being alone at this ball or not showing her face at all was not going to help one bit. But the thought of attending with Fred made her actually feel rather excited about getting all dressed up and having fun with her friends. “Fred, that sounds like an excellent idea.” Hermione said with a smile.

“Hermione thought one of Fred’s ideas was excellent?” Ginny questioned as she sat down next to Hermione, everyone scooted down a little so she didn’t have to sit opposite her brother and Lavender. “You don’t hear about that happening often.” She said with a smirk.

“They’re going to the Yule Ball together,” Harry said, still sulking as he stared in Cho’s direction.

“Oh, Hermione, we can help one another get ready.” Ginny said with a smile.

“Wait, who asked you?” Fred asked, switching into big brother mode. Ginny was too young to attend without being asked by an older student, and Fred wanted to make sure this guy wasn’t some creep. He was sure Ron would agree, if he wasn’t otherwise occupied.

“Neville Longbottom.” Ginny said, blushing a little. “And before you get any ideas, we’re both very clear, this is just for the dance, he didn’t ask me on a date or anything.” Fred was satisfied, he knew Neville well enough to trust him with his little sister. “Have you got a dress yet?” Ginny asked turning to Hermione, she shook her head, up until now she had no interest in going dress shopping. “Well have to get looking this weekend in Hogsmeade, before all the good ones get snatched up. Can I show you mine? Come on, come and see mine.” Ginny said jumping up from the table and dragging Hermione with her.

“See you later.” Hermione said as she turned to follow Ginny.

“So you and Fred.” Ginny said elbowing Hermione as they walked up the stairs. “Here I thought you would always end up dating Ron. And after all the rumours recently I thought I would see you with a guy named Cormac.” Hermione blushed a little and did her best to hide her face with her hair.

“I am NOT dating Fred. Cormac was a one time thing for a bet.” Hermione insisted. “We’re going to the ball together, because I kind of have to go for Harry, and Fred is someone I can trust, and he had no one to go with. Like you’re going with Neville, because he’s nice and isn’t using you to get to Harry.”

“Oh come on, you and Fred are always together, and now you’re going to the ball together. That is no coincidence, you like him, as more than a study buddy.” Ginny teased. Hermione was speechless for a moment. She saw Fred as a friend and nothing more. Did she find him attractive? Yes. Would she of kissed back him when she thought he was leaning in the other night? Yes. But that did not mean she saw him as anything more than a study buddy and she was certain that Fred felt the exact same. “Stuck for words there, Hermione?”

“Ginny, I think you’ll find that Fred and I will always be just friends and nothing more. We’re doing one another a favour by attending the ball together. He’s saving me from a night of embarrassment and that is all.” Hermione insisted. 

“You keep telling yourself that.” Ginny said with a smile.


	7. Chapter 7

Hermione had never taken so much care over her appearance before. She would usually roll out of bed, throw on so clothes, attempt to tame her hair, give up and go on with her day. Today in preparation for the Yule Ball Hermione had spent so much time with Ginny and Angelina getting ready, that she would be happy if she never had to sit in front of a mirror ever again. But finally all three of the girls were ready and heading to meet their dates in the entrance hall. Hermione pulled on Ginny’s arm as they reached the final corner before the stairs. Angelina and Ginny stopped, turning around as Hermione leaned against a wall, she looked as though she was going to burst into tears at any moment. She had never felt this nervous before in all her life. 

“What’s wrong?” Ginny asked.

“I don’t know if I can do this.” Hermione said fighting back the tears. “I feel like everyone is looking at me already and no one is even around yet.”

“That’s not anything new.” Ginny said, calmly placing an arm around Hermione and pulling her into a hug.

“I know, but I just don’t feel like I look like me.” Hermione said referring to her hair and her dress and the hells and all the makeup.

“Everything is going to be fine.” Angelina said stepping towards them. “You look flawless.” She reassured her. Hermione nodded taking in a deep breath. “Now, don’t cry, you’ll ruin the masterpiece that is your face.” Hermione smiled. “Trust me, you have no reason to worry, you look great.” Hermione took a step forwards, feeling a little more confident. She had never spent that much with Angelina before, Hermione was a little surprised at how supportive she was without really knowing her.

“You go on ahead, Angelina, I just want to fix Hermione’s hair a little before we go.” Ginny said, Angelina smiled, gave Hermione’s hand a quick squeeze and went to find George. “There’s something else, isn’t there? It’s not just about feeling like you stand out. It’s about Fred too.”

“Not this again.” Hermione sighed. “I am not having this conversation with you again, Ginny.”

“You’re in denial.” Ginny said in a sing song kind of way as they made their way to the top of the stairs.

Fred couldn’t stop fidgeting with his robes, as he stood next to George waiting for their respective dates. At least he didn’t look as bad as Ron. Fred glanced over in Ron and Harry’s direction, Ron looked pissed off and embarrassed, but Lavender looked happier than ever and still hung from his arm. Harry was stood with Parvati Patil, waving at people as they passed, she looked delighted that she was with Harry, with everyone looking their way.

“Seriously, what are you so nervous about?” George asked as he lounged against the wall next to Fred.

“I’m not nervous,” Fred said, he noticed how much he was fidgeting and shoved his hands into his pockets, allowing himself to slouch. But the damage was already done.

“Sure,” George said stepping off the wall. “I am your twin Fred. I know you pretty damn well. And I know right now you’re nervous as hell. So what’s wrong? Worried that Hermione will show up your dancing skills? Nervous that you’re in love with her and she doesn’t feel the same? Or that Ron is going to challenge you to a duel? Or better yet a dance off for young Miss Granger’s heart?”

“What?” Fred asked.

“You know our little bro has a thing for that girl. And now I think that you have a serious thing for her too.” George said nudging Fred with his elbow. Just as Fred was about to come up with some witty response, Angelina appeared and George’s attention faded away from their conversation and to his girlfriend. A few more moments later both Ginny and Hermione appeared. It took Fred a second to recognise Hermione, she looked so different. Her hair was usually bushy and unattended, but now it was sleeked down and all pulled into side pony tail. Her dress was a beautiful shade of blue and although Fred could tell she was wearing makeup, all it did was enhance her natural beauty. Fred was lost for words. As she walked down the stairs, the entrance to the hall went silent as everyone turned to watch her walk towards Fred.

Out of the corner of his eye, Fred noticed Krum ignore the beautiful girl on his arm and turn all his attention to Hermione. Fred didn’t like the predator look that flashed through his eyes but he soon turned away.

“Hermione you look…amazing.” Fred said trying not to set George off even more. Hermione blushed and looked around, hoping that everyone would stop staring at some point. Being the centre off attention because of her association to someone was fine, but now everyone was staring at her because she was all dressed up made Hermione uncomfortable.

“Thanks,” Hermione said as everyone started to pair off as the champions lined up. “You look great too.”

“Hey, Hermione.” Ron said, Lavender stood talking to one of her friends nearby. Hermione couldn’t remember the last time she had spoken to Ron without Lavender or Harry being around.

“Hey,” Hermione said, suddenly feeling more self conscious than ever as Ron kept staring at her without saying a word. “You look very…nice.” Hermione wasn’t sure what to say without sounding sarcastic. Ron shuffled uncomfortably as he pulled at the frayed ends of his sleeves. He said nothing. Hermione started think of some way to excuse herself.

“Hey, little bro.” Fred said walking over. “Nice dress robes. Shame you got stuck with Percy’s hand me downs.” 

“I didn’t know you two were coming together.” Ron said staring at his older brother. He couldn’t believe that both Fred and George’s identical dress robes looked so different from his own. “And that you buy your own clothes now.”

“Don’t worry, when George and I get rich from our joke shop, we’ll buy you some that are more current.” Fred said, although he sensed that Ron wasn’t in any kind of mood to joke around. Instead Lavender came over taking Ron’s hand into hers.

“Won-won.” Lavender said in a voice that was like nails on a chalk board to Hermione. “We should head in.” She looked over at Hermione and smiled a little before dragging Ron away.

“Who cursed him in the butt?” Fred said as he led Hermione over to enter with George and Angelina in front of them.

“I never know what is going on with that boy anymore,” Hermione sighed as they began to enter. Sometimes she felt sad about how much the two seemed to of grown apart in such a short space of time. She craned her head around trying to spot Harry, but she couldn’t spot any of the champions. Soon everyone gathered around as the four champions filed in with their dates. Hermione saw Harry, but he only had eyes for Cho, who walked in with Cedric. Hermione tried not to laugh as she watched Harry attempt to dance, his sense of rhythm had a lot of room for improvement.

“Can I have this dance?” Fred asked holding out his hand to Hermione and bowing a little. Hermione chuckled and took Fred’s hand as he led her to the dance floor.

Hermione couldn’t remember laughing and dancing so much in all her life. Back when she was just a muggle, Hermione would be forced by her parents to show up at the dances her school held. Mostly she would sit on the side with one her friends and spend the evening in a bored silence, wishing she was at home with a book instead. On one of these horrible nights Hermione had tried to smuggle of book with her, but her parents found out and insisted she leave it behind. But Fred had the ability to make everything fun. She forgot for a night about homework, tests and studying and spent some time in the moment. It seemed as though it was just Fred’s affect on her. They also spent a lot of the night with George and Angelina, and Hermione often saw Ginny dancing with Neville, but she did not once see Harry or Ron or either of their dates until she decided to go and sit down for a second.

Hermione left the dance floor, and almost immediately saw Harry and Ron since they were the only people sat down looking miserable. Harry couldn’t take his eyes off of Cho, leaving Parvati to talk with Lavender. Ron seemed to be scowling in Fred’s direction.

“Hi,” Hermione said sitting down opposite them. Ron made a point of turning away from her, and Harry hadn’t even taken any notice of her yet. “Having fun?” She asked, trying to make some kind of conversation. Harry shrugged and crossed his arms, still not saying a word. Hermione watched as a Dumstrung student walked over and asked Parvati to dance, leading her away. Lavender looked around and noticed Hermione.

“Won-won, should we go and dance too?” Lavender asked standing up and trying to drag Ron with her. Ron pulled his arm from her grasp and crossed them across his chest, still scowling at his older brother. “Ron?”

“Just go dance with your friends.” Ron said a little too sharply, Lavender hesitated for a moment before pouting and walking away. Hermione stood up too, she had no interest in sticking around if both of her best friends were just going to ignore her. “Why are you here with him, Hermione?” Ron asked. Hermione considered just leaving, she didn’t owe Ron an explanation.

“I can attend with whomever I like, Ronald.” Hermione said turning back around. “But if you must know, Fred and I are here together as friends, because neither of us were going with anyone else. And we have fun together. We bring out the best in each other. You have no right to be mad at either of us.”

“I’m not mad.” Ron mumbled.

“Well you’re doing a great impression.” Fred said standing just behind Hermione.

“I’m leaving.” Ron said, both Harry and Ron fled from the great hall, Ron looking more embarrassed than Fred had ever seen him. 

“What the bloody hell was that about?” Fred asked sitting down in the seat that Ron had just vacated and letting out a sigh as he leaned back.

“I have no idea.” Hermione said, she felt like all the fun had left her body now. Why did Ron have to go and ruin the evening? Fred knew why he had been so mean to the both of them, he liked Hermione, but it didn’t give him the right to be rude to anyone, especially since he chose to have a girlfriend. Fred and Hermione decided to stay a while longer, neither of them wanted their nights to end on such a low note. 

Fred and Hermione were among the few remaining students who left at the end of the ball. They made their way slowly back to the common room, neither wanting the night to end. The pair entered the common room and stood off to the side, both unsure of what to do next.

“I had the best night tonight,” Hermione said with a smile, “thank you.”

“You’re welcome, and thank you for coming with me and making every other guy in the room even more jealous of me.” Fred said, he leaned down and hugged Hermione, neither wanting to pull away, they hugged for longer than either would have with anyone else. Fred waved goodbye as he took off up the stairs to his dormitory. Hermione turned to head to her own room but was faced with Harry watching her instead.

Hermione sat down opposite Harry, waiting for the interrogation she was about to face. Harry didn’t say anything right away, he was waiting for Hermione to start, or to at least say something.

“Fun night?” Harry asked with a smirk. Hermione nodded and slipped the heels from her feet, thankful that she would not have to wear them again, no one had warned her how painful they would become when she bought them. “You do know why Ron is so mad at you right?”

“Because all boys are incredibly narrow minded.” Hermione said through gritted teeth. “If he had such a problem about Fred and wanted me to go with someone else, then he should have asked me or…something.”

“You know that wasn’t going to happen. He’s with Lavender. And besides, it seemed as though you’re now a lot more interested in a slightly older Weasley.” Harry was now on the crazy train too, in Hermione’s eyes.

“Oh not you too.” Hermione sighed as she held her head in her hands. “Like I told Ginny, Fred and I are friends. We hang out, help each other out, have fun. That doesn’t mean I’m harbouring some deep love for him or something.” Hermione left out the part where she often found herself daydreaming about Fred and the two times she had thought they going to kiss, and what would of happened if they did. No one needed to know about that other than her. And it didn’t mean she liked Fred. It just meant she was a normal teenager.

“Well, it seems to me that you have a Weasley problem on your hands now.” Harry said as they both stood up and headed to their dorms. “I know Ron has a girlfriend, and I know you don’t like her. But be gentle around him.” Hermione nodded, she didn’t want to talk about Ron or Fred anymore. She just wanted to go to sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

By the time the third and final task rolled around Hermione and Fred had grown even closer. Both of them were now always being questioned by their other friends, but apart from everyone being constantly suspicious, neither was complaining.

The final day of school was creeping closer, and Hermione found herself worrying. Cedric’s death and the chaos that had followed kept her twitching at every sound and fearing every shadow. Fred helped though, she felt calm and brave when she was around him, like they could conquer anything together. The night before they were due to go back home Hermione found herself alone as she walked back from the library after returning all her books. The corridors were empty, all the other students were saying their goodbyes and completing their last minute packing, and a lot of teachers had gone to bed after the leaving feast. She didn’t mind the quiet too much though, it was so rare to have some time alone in Hogwarts.

“Hermione!” A slurred voice called from behind her. Except they weren’t pronouncing her name quite right, she knew it was a Durmstrang student and she could already tell that student must be drunk. She crossed her fingers and hoped it wouldn’t be Krum. She had done very well to avoid him since the beginning of the year and his behaviour in the library, she did not want to break that streak now. “Where are you going?”

Hermione turned to see Krum stumble up to her, carrying a large empty goblet in one hand and holding onto the wall for support with the other. She took a step backwards and reached into her pocket so she could slip her wand into her sleeve without him seeing.

“Back to the common room.” She said walking backwards towards the stairs. Krum pulled himself from the wall and made his way besides her, too close for her comfort, forcing her to press closer to the wall. She walked as fast as she could, but just as she could see the beginning of the stairs, Krum took a hold of her wrist and pulled her back. She was so startled she dropped her wand and Krum managed to press himself against her with her back against the wall. Hermione couldn’t help but think of the times she had found herself in this exact position with Fred. But now her heart was racing for an entire other reason.

“Let me go, Viktor. I’m busy.” She said turning her face to the side so she wouldn’t have to look at his eyes. She was afraid of how he might be looking at her if she looked too closely.

“Now,” he said, his fingers trailing her arm, making her skin crawl. “We have a little time.” His accent made his words even harder to understand under the influence of alcohol. He dropped the goblet to the floor and put his hand on her cheek. Hermione forced his hand off of her.

“Please, you’ve had a lot to drink and I don’t think you’re thinking straight.” She said as she continued to bat his hands away. She didn’t want to fight him off, he was a lot stronger than she was and her wand was too far out of reach.

“I’ve hardly drunk anything.” The smell of his breath betrayed him.

“Just leave me alone!” Hermione shouted, beginning to feel desperate as he pressed his body flush against hers. She tried to push him away, but he barely even swayed. Even drunk his physique was too strong for her.

“Hey!” A welcome voice called from the stairs. “The lady asked you to leave her alone.” Hermione turned her head to see Fred holding his wand to Krums face, she had never seen Fred look so angry before. “Let her go, Krum. Now!” Krum shrugged, picked up his goblet and stumbled away. “Are you ok?” Fred asked and Hermione took a deep breath in and picked up her wand. She nodded, but the tears that formed in her eyes contradicted her. “Come on.” Fred held out his hand and led her back up the common room.

The room was warm and empty, all the other students too busy preparing to leave the next day. Fred led her to a quiet corner by the fire place, he had noticed how she was shivering and used a quick spell to light a fire. Hermione sat next to Fred as he pulled her into a hug and let her cry for a while.

“What happened?” Fred asked when she had stopped crying. “Why didn’t you curse that son of a bitch?”

“I dropped my wand when he grabbed me.” Hermione explained. “I considered hitting him, but I knew since he’s Viktor Krum I would end up being the one in trouble. I don’t know how far he would of gone without someone stopping him. Thank you, Fred.”

The two sat by the fire for some time, Fred tried to take Hermione’s mind off of Krum but talking about exams, his joke shop, and summer plans, trying his very hardest to make her laugh. He told her all about the money Harry had given them and how they planned to find a space soon after they graduated from school the next year.

“Hogwarts will be weird without you two.” Hermione said, she knew they still had a year together, but she had a further two without him. Hogwarts would feel a little less like home without the twins but Hermione knew that they would all one day have to move on and join the world outside of school.

“It’s always weird not being here.” Fred said looking out the window. “But still got one more year left. And next year you’re going to have to help me with a hole new project.”

“What’s that?” Hermione asked.

“Testing out our first batch of new jokes. Or we’ll never be ready in time for Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes to open before mum forces us to work for the ministry.” Fred said with a smile. “Are you going to stay with us during the summer?” Fred asked, he didn’t want to have to wait to see her. He’d gotten used to seeing her nearly every day.

“Yeah,” Hermione said thinking about Voldermort, his return made her nervous. She didn’t want to spend too much time outside the wizarding community or without being around Fred. “I’m sure mum and dad won’t mind.”

“Good, I’ve gotten used to seeing you all the time, the summer would be torture without you.” Fred said with a smile. He saw Hermione blush a little and couldn’t help himself. He reached over the short distance between them and brushed away some of the hair that had fallen across her face. Hermione’s mind went blank, she felt herself lean towards his touch, his hand lingered by her cheek and Hermione could have sworn she stopped breathing for a moment when she felt him lean closer.

“Fred-”

“Shh.” He said cutting her off and closing the distance between them, kissing her softly. She pulled him closer as they kissed and one of his hands found its way to her neck. Fred couldn’t believe what was happening, his heart was beating so fast and his mind was racing. He found himself acting on instinct and pulling her closer to his body. He wanted this moment to go on forever. Kissing Hermione felt so natural he never wanted it to end.

“Excuse me.” A voice called out from behind them. Fred sprung away from Hermione and sat with his back against the opposite end of the sofa. Hermione looked around to see an angry looking first year that neither of them knew. “Some of us would rather not see random people, they don’t even know, going at it.” 

“I-I-I gotta go.” Hermione said jumping from the sofa and running straight to her dorm. Fred sat, stunned for a moment. He couldn’t believe what he had just done, sure Hermione had kissed him back but she had also run from the room as though he had turned into Voldemort himself. 

Neither Fred or Hermione slept for a moment that night. Fred tossed and turned playing the moment she ran away from him in his head, wondering if he should of gone after her. But he didn’t regret kissing her. Hermione laid still staring at the ceiling thinking of all the things she should of said to Fred, thinking of how amazing it was kissing Fred. But then her mind would wonder to the moment he pushed her away and sat as far away from her as he could.

The next morning, George rushed Fred from their dorm with Lee so they could all sit with their girlfriends by themselves on the train. Hermione waited for what felt like forever in the common room for Harry and Ron, staring at the stairs, hoping to see another Weasley. But she didn’t see him, instead she sat with Harry, Ron and unfortunately Lavender on the train, watching every person who passed by.

“I know it’s always tough leaving, but you alright Hermione?” Ron asked. Hermione scrambled, trying to pull together a believable answer as to why she nearly chased after every tall red head that walked passed.

“I think Fred has one of her books.” Harry said, filling in for her. “Come on let’s go find him.” Harry said pulling her from her seat and out of the sliding door. When he was certain no one could hear them he stopped. “Now I’ve given the fake answer, what’s the real one?” Harry asked.

For a moment Hermione thought she was going to tell Harry the truth. She felt like she could burst at any moment and not just because she had kissed Fred but because she was tired of denying her feelings. But before she could she remembered Ron. She remembered Ginny and Mrs Weasley and the rest of their family. She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t risk her friendship with Ron and Ginny. But above all else she didn’t want to even think about how Fred felt, it was clear to her, after a sleepless night, that he couldn’t feel the same way. For now she just wanted everything to go back to normal.

“I’m just a little tired.” Hermione said with a shrug, “and there was an incident with Krum last night.”

“What?” Harry shouted without meaning to. “What kind of incident?”

Hermione filled Harry in, thankful for the distraction from Fred for a moment. She made Harry promise not to tell anyone else. She didn’t want even more rumours flying around about her and another guy. And it wasn’t like Krum attended Hogwarts, so would probably never even see him again. She was also convinced if she did tell an adult they would blame her, or not believe her at all. They returned to their compartment to find Ron and Lavender too distracted with each other to ask any more questions.


	9. Chapter 9

Fred tried his absolute hardest to distract his mind from anything possibly related to Hermione. He tried to focus all his attention on his joke shop, he couldn’t say George put in the same dedication. He wasn’t surprised, his break up with Angelina had been pretty rough. George tried to help out where he could but Fred would catch him staring into space or hiding some memento from her he had stashed away. At least George could tell Fred about his girl problems, Fred had no one to talk to about any of his issues. They just ran through his head without escape.

“Fred! George! Wake up.” Molly said opening their door one morning, they had been roped into helping around the house to make it more usable as a base for the order. “Hermione is arriving today and there is still a list longer than Merlin’s beard to complete.” Their mother left the room as fast as she had entered to go and wake the rest of the house. 

Fred’s stomach twisted itself into knot at the sound of her name. He had no idea what he should say to Hermione when he saw her, or even worse what she might say to him. He’d not heard from her so far, but he had also not sent an owl or word at all. He knew Ron had spoken with her and he tried to intercept the letter she had sent before Ron woke up but Pigwidgeon had refused to let the damn thing go.

Hermione had talked herself into going about a thousand times. She had talked herself out of going just as many times. Each time she packed, she unpacked. Each time she went to tell her parents her plans to stay at Grimmauld Place, she bit her tongue and chose another topic. But now they knew, she was packed and heading to meet Ron in London. She tried to calm her nerves by reading on the underground, but she was too stressed and having to juggle all of her school things and try to keep Crookshanks in check was not helping.

She had not even considered how things would be with her and Ron when she spotted him. She had expected another person to tag along as well. She knew Harry had not been escorted to London yet but she at least expected one adult to be with Ron. Instead he stood alone, his hands in his pockets looking bored as he tried to spot her in the crowd. He smiled and waved at her as he spotted Hermione. She took in a deep breath and headed towards him.

“Ron,” she said when she was close enough.

“Hey, Hermione.” He said, they stood awkwardly for a moment, neither sure if a hug would be appropriate. They stood still for long enough that just heading towards the three broomsticks became the natural option.

“Good summer so far?” Hermione asked trying to fill the silence with small talk.

“If you count cleaning a house from top to bottom good, then yeah I guess so.” Ron said, Hermione noted he did not attempt to help her carrying anything. She felt a little surprised by her disappointment. “How’s your summer been with the muggles?”

Hermione was not sure how to respond. On the one hand the muggle world was the one she grew up in. The one she now thought of as the opposite to her own. It seemed boring, but it was nice to spend time with her parents before she reentered the world she thought of as home.

“Good,” she said as he pushed the door to the pub open. They headed over to the fire place without any discussion. Ron went first so she would know where to go. It took Hermione a moment to manoeuvre her trunk and Crookshanks inside but she was being pulled out by Mrs Weasley’s caring arms in no time.

“Hermione,” she said pulling her into a hug. She would never deny Mrs. Weasley’s affection, she had made her feel welcome in a world that often wanted to push her out. And for that she would always be grateful. “How are you? Let’s get you settled in, you’re sharing with Ginny, shes excited to see you.” Mrs. Weasley said as she led her out of the kitchen. “You just have to remember to be quiet in the halls. Ginny will explain why. Fred, George help Hermione take her things upstairs.” 

Hermione was frozen for a split second as the twins stood from the table and walked towards her. She took a moment to decide who was who. Fred stood out when he couldn’t look her in the eye. George smiled at her but he did not look happy either. She had heard from Ron that George had broken up with Angelina. She gave him a sympathetic smile and followed the twins, with Crookshanks squirming in her arms.

No one said a word as they climbed the stairs. When they reached the room she would be sharing with Ginny Fred put her bag down in the doorway and headed back down the stairs without even looking her in the eyes. George stayed for a moment.

“How are you Hermione?” George asked, she let Crookshanks climb on top of the dresser. “How has your summer been so far?”

“Good thanks.” She said, she was not sure what to say to George. Seeing his face made her think of Fred and their kiss and her mess of emotions. Hermione forced herself to move that to one side. George was a different person to Fred and neither deserved to be treated like the other. “I heard about what happened with Angelina, I’m sorry George.”

“Thanks, Hermione. But it is what it is. No point in dwelling on someone who believes all the ignorance the ministry is sprouting. Just time to move on.” George left with a nod goodbye. Hermione sat down on the freshly made bed. Crookshanks jumped into her lap and Hermione stroked his ginger fur.

“Hermione!” Ginny said walking into the room and giving Hermione a hug, “I’ve missed you.”

“I missed you too.” Hermione said, she relaxed knowing things would not be awkward with Ginny, like they had been with everyone else. “How are you?”

“Alright,” Ginny said with a sigh and sat down on her own bed, “everyone just seems so uptight at the moment.”

“Well, can you blame them?” Hermione asked, you-know-who being back was bound to have rattled everyone. Hermione had trouble sleeping since the tournament, every little sound at night made her sit upright. She had taken to sleeping with her wand under her pillow, just in case. But even now she feared for her parents, they had no idea what the wizarding world was dealing with. They had no idea just how much their own daughter was dealing with right now.

“No, but its other stuff too. Like George with the break up. And Fred seems all mopey.” Ginny said a large smirk growing, “must be all the time you two have been spending apart.” Hermione had to change the subject. Ginnys brothers were the last thing she wanted to be discussing.

“Maybe, or just you know the usual good vs evil stuff. Your mum said something about we have to be quiet in the halls?” Hermione said. She wanted to ask the question anyway, the subject change was just a bonus.

“Right, this house is weird. I’m sure someone will give you the tour tomorrow. The house belongs to the Black family, but they’re using it for the order of the phoenix now. There’s this portrait of Sirius’s mother downstairs, she yells whenever we make too much noise in the hallways. I imagine she must have been a vile woman.” Ginny explained, thinking back to the time the portrait had called her whole family blood traitors. Ginny hoped Hermione would never have to encounter the painting, she was certain it would call Hermione horrid names. “It was empty while Sirius was in Azkaban so it’s filthy and filled with boggarts. Mum keeps us busy from sun rise to sun set cleaning every corner. But this place is huge, we’ve hardly made a dent. No doubt she’ll have you helping.”

“What is the order of the phoenix?” Hermione asked.

“They’re a secret society. They hold all their meetings here. But we’ve never been allowed to listen in. Dumbledore founded them. It’s all the people who fought against you-know-who before.” Ginny explained what little she had been told. All her other attempts at gathering information had been denied. “Fred and George are trying out these extendable ears they’re developing for their shop. We’ve not had much luck so far.”

“Mum said dinners ready,” Ron said opening their door without knocking.

Hermione followed Ginny down to the kitchen and made sure she on the opposite end of the table to twins and Ron. They were sat with a couple of wizards Hermione did not recognise, along with Lupin and Sirius. Hermione missed the cramped rooms of the Burrow but she felt right at home sat next to Ginny and Mrs Weasley. She had hoped they would talk about the order over dinner so she could pick up on more details but Ginny had been right. They let nothing slip. Instead people talked about Hogwarts and boring work stuff.

“So, Hermione,” Lupin said from the other end of the table. “Fred was just telling us how you helped him improve his grades last year.” Hermione dared a look at Fred who was turning red. He stared down at his plate hoping he could invent a spell to open the ground and swallow him whole. When Lupin had asked what had changed, he did not think he would be calling across the table and asking her questions. Fred had known he would be seeing Hermione, and they would have to spend time together but his heart had not been clued in on that information. It pounded in his chest and made his ears ring.

“Excuse me, I need to go and check on Crookshanks.” Hermione said leaving the room as fast as she could. Fred felt his stomach twist. He knew someone would ask her about last year, but he had not expected her to run from the room so fast. He did not know what he had expected to happen. 

Fred was not sure whether he should find Hermione and talk to her about their kiss. But it was too risky with his entire family in the house. Not to mention the nightly house guests. Instead he headed to bed early so he could lay awake and over think things until he fell asleep.


	10. Chapter 10

Ginny had been right. The next day as soon as breakfast was cleaned away Hermione was given a few muggle cleaning supplies and sent off with Ginny to clean a bedroom. The one she was cooped up in had already been cleared for all magical creatures since neither Ginny or Hermione were old enough to use magic outside of school yet. The girls swept, scrubbed, dusted and swept some more. But every time they thought the room was close to finished there a layer of dust remained.

Hermione’s days were filled with cleaning. Harry arrived a month in the holidays. Having Harry around made things easier. Most of the attention was focused on him now. It gave her space to breathe. When she wasn’t cleaning or spending time with Ginny and Harry she focused on getting a jump start. The summer would soon be over and she would be busier than even now that she had been assigned as a Gryffindor prefect. She should have been happy that Ron had also been selected, but she could not help but think she would miss spending time with another Weasley.

Fred was happy for the distraction. George had become more involved with testing out products for their shop, but cleaning in the day helped keep his hands and head busy. Now they could use magic outside of school Fred was often given the task of clearing out any unwelcome creatures they found. Helping to rid the house of creatures was more entertaining to the twins than cleaning. When rooms were clear they had to go back to scrubbing the muggle way, Fred was sure there was some ulterior motive but their mother claimed it was to build character.

The summer was coming to a close, all of the rooms were almost free of boggarts and Doxy’s. It was just the stubborn dust that seemed to be causing the most back breaking jobs now.

“Right, I am splitting you lot up into pairs. We’re finishing this house before you head off to school. Ron you’re with Ginny, Harry with George and Hermione with Fred.” Mrs. Weasley instructed while handing out supplies. Hermione felt her heart skip a beat. She did not want to be left alone with Fred, the silence would drive her mad.

“Mrs. Weasley, couldn’t Ginny and I just spend the day cleaning our room together? I have this new idea for SPEW and I could use Ginny’s insight?” Hermione asked as everyone began to file out.

“Dear, if I let Fred and Ron lose alone there will be no telling what kind of damage they could cause. Now he’s a prefect Ron needs to set an example for his sister. And you’re a prefect too now dear. You need to whip this lot into shape.” Mrs. Weasley instructed. “Just think Fred, if you had put your head down and focused sooner you and George could have been prefects too.”

“I think you’ll find Fred and I are far too busy for such trivial matters.” George said elbowing his twin who had turned a much paler shade than George in the last minute or so. “We have a shop to establish. And an inventory to create.” 

Fred said nothing and left the room with his bucket of water and sponge. He did not want to be left alone with Hermione either, but he also had not practically begged his mother to do anything but. The way Hermione asked to work with Ginny instead made him hurt. His chest felt tight. He knew his reaction was irrational but he was beginning to feel mad. Hermione had avoided him all summer and now she would rather face you-know-who himself instead of talking to Fred. He had done nothing wrong. So what they had kissed, Fred enjoyed it, if Hermione didn’t all she had to do was come out and say it and things could go back to the way they had been before their arrangement was ever made.

Fred got to work as fast as he could without magical assistance. The faster they were finished the faster he could relieve the pinching in his chest. Hermione followed and busied herself in the opposite corner.

At first Hermione thought it best to work in silence. Neither knew what to say to the other so she thought it best if they focused and just got the job done. She also knew that this would not be the last time she ever saw Fred and if they were ever going to get to a civil place now was the best time to start building the road there.

“How is the shop coming? Any exciting products?” Hermione asked, her eyes remained glued to the floor.

For a moment Fred would have sworn his ears were playing tricks on him or he had inhaled too much Doxycide the day before. He could not deny it though. Hermione had said something directly to just him, while they were alone. Maybe she had tried out a bad batch of their fever fudge while the twins were sleeping.

“Just our latest version of the skiving snackbox. We’re going to test them out at school.” Fred said, he drained his dirty sponge and turned to look at Hermione. “Congrats on becoming a prefect. What did your parents say?”

“Since a prefect is also a muggle thing, they were thrilled that they understood something about Hogwarts.” If they had been having this conversation last year Hermione would of gone on to add how sometimes her parents don’t understand her like they used to. But that she was happy they understood this. And that she wished they could be proud of her for other things they would never get. And that she often felt disconnected from the world she had grown up in. That she was now leading two lives. But Hermione said nothing like that. She wanted her relationship with Fred back and she knew there was only way to get it. “Do you regret that we kissed?”

Fred was shocked. He had never thought Hermione would bring up the topic so randomly. He had always assumed if they ever talked about their kiss it would be because they both had agreed to. Or there would be some kind of big build up. He had never felt so speechless in his entire life. He turned to face Hermione who looked uncomfortable and had dropped her broom. No he did not regret kissing Hermione. He only regretted how it ended and how they had both acted since. But his mouth just hung open. Before he could regain enough sense to begin speaking Hermione ran from the room with tears streaming down her face. Fred stood in silence replaying her question in his head.

Ginny opened the door to their room, hoping to get five minutes away from her older brothers constant complaining. He hated all this muggle work, he wanted to relax before school, he had not seen the sun in days. Ginny was certain eve is she paid him, he could not talk about a positive topic. But Hermione was lying on her bed crying into her pillow. Ginny locked their door, although she knew it would do no use in keeping anyone else out. She sat next to Hermione on her bed and waited until she rolled over.

“What happened?” Ginny asked.

Hermione broke down. She needed to tell someone all the things that had been going through her head. She realised that maybe opening up to one of her best friends would help. So Hermione told Ginny everything. She told her about her having feelings for Fred and not knowing what they meant. She told her about them kissing and how they had jumped apart and how she had ran. She told her about asking Fred the one question they had both been avoiding. She told her how Fred had paused for so long.

“These months have been torture. I haven’t been able to sort out how I feel about Fred. And then theres Ron.” Hermione said laying down on her bed and taking in a deep breath.

“First, apart from Ron himself, we all know you liked Ron. Fred knows that, Harry, literally everyone. For what it’s worth I think he likes you too.” Ginny said. “And I know its going to be hard to accept but you obviously have liked Fred for a while now.”

Hermione was well aware of this fact. But liking Fred came with a lot of complications. She was also well aware that Fred may not like her. She knew it was possible that Fred had been caught up in the moment and had no idea how to deal with it now.

“Why didn’t you tell me about this sooner?” Ginny asked. “You know I would have listened and kept it all a secret.” Hermione turned to face Ginny. She had wanted to tell her everything months ago. She had no good reason not to.

“I don’t know. I suppose because I was still in denial. Talking would have made it real.” Hermione said with a sigh wiping away the last of her tears. “What should I do, Ginny?”

Ginny considered Hermione’s question. She had asked Hermione for help on a similar topic a few years back about Harry. And Hermione’s words helped Ginny get over her very small obsession.

“A wise witch once told me that in order to get over a boy you have to move on first.” Ginny said. “I know thats frustrating advice, trust me I was puzzled for days but if you really believe Fred regrets kissing you maybe it is best to try considering someone else. Or focusing on something else. But if you ask me the he likes you.”

“I really do need to run a few ideas about SPEW with you.” Hermione mumbled ignoring the last part of Ginny’s pep talk.

“That’s the spirit,” Ginny said standing up and helping Hermione to her feet and to straighten herself out. “Now we need to get back to work before my mum hexes the both of us.”


	11. Chapter 11

Hermione survived the rest of of her summer with the Weasleys. In her spare time she read her text books, made SPEW badges and tried to help the others eavesdrop on order meetings. She had a hard time holding conversations with Fred that went beyond the lovely weather they had this summer. The only silver lining was she was now able to tell the twins apart with a simple glance. George kept his relaxed posture around Hermione, Fred’s usual relaxed body language always tensed up.

Fred hated every minute he spent around Hermione. He had no idea what to say to her anymore. The ease he had felt last year had disappeared and since his speechlessness to her question he had no idea how to tell her how he felt. He wanted to kiss her again. He wanted to be around her, but being around her was torture. He had never been more confused by his own feelings in all his life. On top of his messed up love life he had never kept anything like this from George and keeping secrets from his twin was another complicated mess he had created.

Hogwarts was the perfect escape for both of them. They both had important exams at the end of the year and since Fred started putting effort in last year he found it hard not to care about his grades. Even if he did still have every intention of never putting them to use outside of his joke shop.

Hermione slipped back into school with ease. Being a prefect filled in any time she had between SPEW, the DA and most importantly her school work. Ron neglected a lot of his prefect duties in favour of ‘spending time with Lavender.’ Even if she wanted to think about Fred and how she felt about him she did not have the time. She did not talk to Fred unless it was to tell both Fred and George to stop giving puking sweets to first years. He was only ever sarcastic back and kept doing whatever he wanted, she always left wondering why she had wasted her precious time.

The DA became more of a priority the longer Umbridge remained their defence against the dark arts professor. Fred looked forwards to their meetings, to learning new spells and to steal glances at Hermione. Being a twin came with a lot of perks, whenever practice called for pairs they were always the natural choice. He never had to worry about Harry picking him to partner with Hermione when he was born with a partner.

The fourth DA meeting was well under way, after throwing objects in air to practice the stupefy charm Harry was pairing them up. He did not want anyone to get hurt. But he also knew using a charm on a ball and using the charm on another witch or wizard were different things entirely. He had instructed them all to go easy on one another. The last thing anyone needed was Madame Pomfrey to be rushed into their meetings.

Harry lined everyone up and paired them off.

“Ron, with Cho. Ginny with Collin. Lavender with George. Fred with Hermione.” Hermione stopped listening to Harry sprouting off names. She could not believe he had not gone with the default of pairing her with Ginny and the twins together. Her heart sunk. Her mind did not wonder into Fred hurting her but she still did not warm to the idea of pointing her wand at Fred.

Hermione had not noticed that the pairs were spreading out. Her head was somewhere else as she stood opposite Fred and they prepared themselves.

“Remember go easy on one another.” Harry called out. “There are crash mats in the corner grab one and get started.”

Hermione was tempted to ask to speak to Harry in private and talk him out of this idea. Surely testing on the dummy would be good enough. But it was too late for that now. Fred was already waiting for her.

“Do you want to go first?” Hermione asked holding her head up high, she was certain that she was going to retain her dignity and take the spell on the chin. A little part of her wanted to see how much force he was going to pack and then make sure her spell was stronger. But she pushed that thought away. This was not the time to start being overly competitive with Fred.

“Yeah,” Fred said waiting while Hermione took her position. “Stupefy!” Fred made sure the spell did not hit her square on, she fell to the side and got back up again. Hermione straighten her skirt and pointlessly patted down her hair. “Are you okay?” Fred asked as they swapped sides.

“Never better.” Hermione said and took a breath before holding out her wand. “Stupefy!” Hermione had intended to take it easy on Fred to, but at the last moment she looked Fred straight in the eyes and a rush of emotions came over her, including a slight spike in anger. Hermione lost her focus at the most critical moment and Fred sored past the mat and crashed against the wall. Hermione dropped her wand and ran to his side. The room fell silent as everyone turned to see Fred lying on the floor.

Harry rushed over shocked that the best witch he knew had not controlled herself. But Fred was moving and trying to stand already. Harry pushed him back down and turned to the rest of the group who were all watching and closing in.

“Okay guys see you next time.” Harry called out, no one moved. “Seriously, don’t worry he’s fine. We’ll take care of him, get back to your common rooms before it gets too late.” George, Ron, Hermione and Ginny were the only ones who stayed behind.

“Fred, are you okay?” Hermione asked, his forehead was bleeding but apart from that he seemed okay.

“A bit sore, but I’ll survive, but I think my head caught the corner of the bookshelf.” Fred said rubbing his forehead. “Ouch.”

“We should get him to Madam Pomfrey.” Ginny said crouching next to Hermione.

“And tell her what?” Harry asked. The room had provided a bowl of warm water and a cloth next to Hermione. She pressed the cloth against Fred’s forehead trying to ignore how his wince made her heart clench.

“How many fingers am I holding up?” George asked holding five fingers up in front of his eyes.

“Four fingers and one thumb.” Fred said with a smirk. “You can’t trick me, George.”

“He’s fine.” George said smiling and standing up straight. “You are still bleeding though mate.”

“I’ll take care of it.” Hermione said looking around for her wand. “You guys should head back to the common room too, it’s almost after curfew and we don’t want anyone to get caught in the corridors.”

It took a little more convincing to get George to leave. He insisted on going back to the common room and running the map back to them so they could avoid being caught as well. Hermione was glad they had all left. She wanted to apologise in private.

“I’m sorry Fred, I don’t know what came over me.” Hermione said, she dipped the cloth in the water and was glad that the cut looked smaller than she had imagined at first. And he did not appear to be too dazed or showing any other signs of a concussion. “I would never try and hurt you.”

“I know, don’t worry I think the magic in this room cushioned the floor.” Fred said smiling and trying not to let the pain show when she applied pressure to his forehead again. “But I know I’m not the only one whose been hurt. I know I hurt you when you asked me about our kiss and I said nothing.” Hermione felt her mouth go dry as her mind scrambled to find the right words to say.

“I did put you on the spot.” Hermione mumbled. 

“No don’t make excuses for me. I should have told you how I felt a long time ago. I like you Hermione.” Fred said. Hermione busied herself applying a bandage to Fred’s forehead. She used patching him up as a reason not to look him in the eye and avoid letting him see how nervous she felt. “I was in denial all last year. Until that night in the common room and then I just let you go without saying anything and I thought you did not feel the same way. I should have talked to you. Please say something?”

“I like you too.” Hermione said staring at the ground. “I like you a lot.”

“Why didn’t we just talk and tell each other?” Fred said with a chuckle. “One conversation could have saved us so much trouble.”

“I know.” Hermione said smiling too. “I’m supposed to be the smartest witch in my year and I’ve been acting like a fool.” Hermione tucked the last bandage away. “I was going to use magic for your forehead but I don’t trust myself tonight.” She mumbled.

“I’ll swing by the hospital wing tomorrow. Please don’t beat yourself up about it.” Fred said noticing that Hermione was still fiddling with the left over medical supplies.

“Okay, I just have one condition.” Hermione said, it was now or never, she needed to be brave and put herself on the line with Fred for once.

“Anything.” Fred said. Hermione moved closer to Fred and moved the hair off of his slightly wet forehead. She leaned in and kissed him, the kiss started off soft at first but with no one else around their intensity grew. Fred tugged Hermione closer and Hermione threaded her fingers through his hair. Until George returned.

“Hows the patient?” Called out as he opened the door. Hermione pushed herself away before George had a chance to see them kissing.

“Better than ever.” Fred called out winking at Hermione, she blushed and helped Fred to his feet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the reviews and Kudos and such. I can't believe I had a spelling mistake in the title and didn't notice. Thank you to whoever pointed it out! Just in case anyone comes across this elsewhere I have posted this on fanfiction.net too and have been uploading onto here while I deal with writers block.


	12. Chapter 12

Fred never thought he would keep secrets from George. Being a twin came as a neat package deal with pros and cons. One aspect that laid right in the middle was someone who you were supposed to share all your secrets with. George told him about the first time he kissed a girl only ten minutes after it happened. Fred told George in detail about his weird recurring dreams starring McGonagall and Luna Lovegood, where the two would solve Muggle crimes. 

But Hermione and Fred had agreed. Until further notice they would keep their relationship private. Neither wanted to handle all the questions, the stares and the added pressure that being public would bring. Their number one reason for keeping their growing relationship a secret was Ron. Hermione did not know how to explain to Ron that, while she had once had feelings for Ron, she had moved on. And that she had moved on with his brother. Hermione had mentioned to Fred that Ron had a girlfriend, but Fred had insisted that Ron still gave Hermione the googly eyes. Deep down they both knew it was wrong not to at least give Ron a heads up.

Hermione did not have a twin. She had two friends who were busy living their own lives, just like last year, they did not notice anything strange about Hermione. They did not notice the notes she hid in her text books or the glances she shared with Fred across the common room. They did not notice she hung back after to DA or when she showed up late to lunch. But Hermione knew Ginny had sensed a change in their dynamic. She would give Hermione these looks when she saw them studying together. Or she would always leave the seat next to Hermione free at dinner. 

The hardest part about their new relationship was trying to find time to spend alone together. They both had important exams at the end of the year. Hermione was a prefect. Fred had new products to test and Quidditch was back and tougher than ever. And since George was now single he often joined their little study group, and kept Fred occupied in their free time. So the pair had taken to sneaking out at night whenever they could. Hermione would wait for the rest of the girls to fall asleep and sneak back downstairs to see if Fred had been as lucky. Their rule was if they could both sneak out before 11pm then they would spend a couple of hours together. If not then they would go to sleep and hope the next night ended with a different outcome.

Fred had gotten lucky. All the boys were tired from their classes all day and DA meeting afterwards. Fred did not even have to pretend to put his pyjamas on. He sat in the corner of the common room facing the girls stairway and waited patiently.

Hermione was not as lucky. Parvati had set up camp in her bed with her text books spread and several rolls of parchment around her.

“Hey, Parvati.” Hermione whispered when she walked into their dorm. The rest of the girls were already asleep. “Homework?”

“No, I am so not ready for a test tomorrow.” She whispered back, she used her wand as a light to read the pages. Hermione nodded sympathetically and got into her own bed. She laid and sighed to herself. She had been hoping to see Fred before the weekend but it looked as though that was not going to happen.

Hermione thought she was imagining things -or had drifted off to sleep - when Parvati’s soft snores were added sounds of the other girls sleeping. Hermione sat up slowly and although her books were still open and her wand was still in her hand, Parvati was asleep. Hermione drew the curtains around her own bed, just in case any of her roommates woke up. She checked her watch, her heart skipped a beat when she realised that they still had time.

“Wow, Granger, you sure know how to keep a guy waiting.” Fred said when he saw Hermione. He was about to give up. “I thought you were going to stand me up.”

“Well I did have another offer I almost accepted.” Hermione said struggling to keep a straight face.

“Oh, and might I ask whom from?” Fred asked, playing along. Hermione walked straight towards the painting to leave.

“Some guy who looked just like you but like half an inch taller.” Hermione said, she knew the twins height was the biggest thing they competed over.

“We’re the same height.” Fred snapped back a little too loud. Hermione burst out giggling as Fred blushed a little and laughed along. Hermione walked over to Fred and wrapped her arms around his neck so she could pull him down to her height and kiss him for the first time that day.

“As a Gryffindor prefect I should really be telling you not to be out of bed this late.” Hermione said with a smirk. Fred could not help but find Hermione even more attractive when she pulled the ‘I-am-prefect’ line out of her back pocket.

“Sorry, Granger, but I have a date.” Fred said leading her towards the exit. “She would be most upset if I did not show.”

“Firstly that is Miss. Granger to you, Mr. Weasley.” Hermione said struggling to put her serious face back on. “And you, Mr. Weasley should be glad that I am your date. So are we going to the lake tonight?” Hermione asked as they stepped out of the common room, Fred checked the coast was clear before taking her hand and pulling her in the opposite direction to what she had been expecting.

“It’s getting a little too cold for outside dates, don’t you think?” Fred whispered. They ran as quietly as possible to the seventh floor. To the room of requirement.

When Hermione opened the door she was expecting the room to be the one they used for DA meetings. It was the only version out of all the infinite versions she had seen. Instead she walked into a bookworms dream. She had never thought about using the room for personal reasons, but now she saw the appeal. She could happily live in the room Fred had summoned. The walls were lined with book shelves packed with books. At a glance they looked like muggle novels. A large sofa sat in the centre covered in pillows and blankets. A few lamps scattered around the room and fairy lights covering the ceiling were the only light sources.

“I don’t know what your room is like back home. So I came up with this, that way you have a little piece of your muggle life at Hogwarts.” Fred said, he locked the door behind him and admired what the room had conjured from his imagination.

“I’ll take you to my house when we go home for Christmas.” Hermione said as she followed Fred to sit down. They had not talked about their plans for Christmas break, but it was only a week before the end of classes. Hermione knew she would already be spending a lot of her time off with the Weasleys and Harry, and probably most of the order, at Grimauld place.

“I’d love that, Miss. Granger,” Fred said brushing a piece of Hermione’s hair behind her ear.

Hermione never thought she would a person who would enjoy spending long periods of time making out with a boy and not talking at all. And yes she liked making out with Fred, but their conversations were her favourite. But that night she lost track of time not speaking much at all.

When they couldn’t find time to spend together they slipped one another notes. It was an unspoken agreement that they would try and slide them in books or in pockets without the other one noticing. Hermione had been rather proud of herself when she managed to get her note tucked into Fred’s already scrolled up homework without him knowing a thing. Fred kept every note she sent him, even the short ones they sent just for fun. Those were his favourite, he loved the ones she sent just to say hi. Or the ones she sent just to tell him she liked the way his hair looked that day. Hermione liked the ones when Fred would slip in a wizarding pun just to see if she’d notice.

The next day Hermione was ready for classes and folding the jeans she had stashed under her bed last night. She felt a piece of parchment in the pocket and her heart leaped. She double checked that she was alone before reading the note carefully.

‘Dear Hermione.

Yesterday when you told Ginny that you were not going to say anything to Umbridge about the new decree, don’t you think the look on her face was…riddikulus.

Fred x’

Hermione could not help but laugh, she tucked the note between her textbooks and buried them in her trunk before rushing to meet Harry and Ron for class.

Even though Fred found Ron and Lavenders relationship a little too reliant on public displays of affection, he wished he could walk Hermione to class. Like Ron would with Lavender every day. He had often seen the other boys in his year rushing to make it to class on time because they had dropped their girlfriends off on the other side of the castle.

“Hey, Fred,” George said nudging his twin in the side as they took their seats in Defence against the dark arts. They both hated the class since Umbridge had taken over. Fred had considered skipping at the beginning of the year but after Harry told them about the Quill of nightmares Fred decided it was not worth the torture. “You alright?”

“Yeah,” Fred said opening his bag and pulling out some parchment. Not telling George about his feelings for Hermione was becoming a challenge. Fred wanted nothing more than to discuss his relationship with George, it was in his instincts to get George’s advice on all of his problems. He often found himself almost letting something slip subconsciously, talking to George about these things was natural.

“You seem tired.” George noted. George checked that Umbridge was no where to be seen before continuing their conversation. “Were you up late working on the Nosebleed Nougat?” Fred often used the prank shop as a reason for why he ‘stayed up late.’

“I’m fine, I promise.” Fred said with a smile, but he could tell George wasn’t buying it. “I think I just have a case of Umbridge-itis.” Fred said, selling his joke by dramatically fanning his face with parchment. George laughed and turned his attention back to the front of the class as their least favourite teacher entered the room.

Hermione had never found herself falling asleep in class. She found every lesson fascinating. Even when Professor Binns was giving a two hour lecture on how Merlin discovered some magical plant. But after spending nearly all night with Fred she found her eyes growing heavy and her attention span diminished in potions the next day. And she knew better than anyone, Professor Snape was not someone who like students slacking in his class.

“Miss. Granger.” Professor Snape called from the front of the class. He was detailing the specific ingredients used for Invigoration draught. Hermione snapped her attention back to the chalk board and away from her sloppy notes. “Would you care to recite to the rest of the class the exact purpose of Peppermint in this potion? Or seeing as you seem to need a slight boost of energy would you rather be our test subject of the day?”

Hermione’s cheeks burned as she mumbled a quick response she had memorised from a text book at the beginning of the year and slid down in her chair.

“Five points from Gryffindor.” Snape snapped and turned his attention back to his lesson.

Hermione rushed out of the classroom with Harry and Ron, she did not want to give Snape the chance to continue deducting points from Gryffindor. She had hoped that Ron and Harry would not bring up the subject as they made their way to the great hall for lunch. The last thing she wanted was to face their questioning. But luck was not on her side.

“Hermione, are you alright? It’s not like you to be sleepy in class.” Harry asked as they took their seats. Ginny, Fred and George were already waiting for them. Hermione slid into place next to Fred but refused to touch him or even look him in the eye.

“Yeah, just a little tired. I was up late last night finishing off homework for Umbridge.” Hermione said trying to ease Harry’s concerns.

“I thought you finished that yesterday.” Ginny said, Hermione gave her a look that she hoped read, please don’t make this worse than it already is.

“I did, I just wanted to change the ending.” Hermione said with a shrug. Fred brushed his hand against Hermione’s under the table and Hermione relaxed a little.

“Did you guys hear about Malfoy and his friends?” Fred asked changing the subject to one he knew would keep everyone at their table interested. “They’re Umbridge’s favourites. Lee saw them breaking one of those decrees to do with music the other day and she did not say a single word.” Fred’s trick had worked. Everyone, but Ginny was too caught up with the gossip to notice Hermione yawning into her soup.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is all I have written so far. I am trying to write more currently but I can't promise the chapter will be up fast.


	13. Chapter 13

After the Christmas break was over the year took a drastic change for Fred. Being kicked off the Quidditch team only after one game had freed up a lot of time. Not that he was pleased. He missed the way him and George just knew what the other was thinking while they flied. He could take all his anger out hitting bludgers and feel great about it after. Not only had he lost Quidditch to Umbridge but he had lost George to another girl. His twin had started dating a Gryffindor in the year bellow, they seemed to make their relationship more affectionate whenever Angelina was around.

Hermione tried not to feel a little happier when Fred was able to sit by her side and study when he would have been with George. She also did not have to watch games and cover up her fear of Fred being knocked out by a bludger. She would never say anything to Fred, she knew that his final year at Hogwarts was not going the way he had wanted. Instead she let him vent to her whenever he needed to. He told her his fears of George slipping away to someone he did not really love. He told her he missed flying and the thrill Quidditch gave him.

“I can tell, just by looking at him, he doesn’t love her the way he loved Angelina.” Fred sighed as he took a heavy seat next to Hermione in the common room. George sat with his new girlfriend across the room not speaking as they did their homework. Hermione pulled out her own textbooks and gave Fred a pointed look when he wasn’t doing the same.

“Why don’t you talk to him about it?” Hermione suggested. Ron walked past with Lavender in tow and gave Hermione a small smile. Hermione leaned away from Fred a little trying to not let her stomach sink when Fred instinctively moved a little closer.

“Because…” Fred said trying his best to keep their conversation private. The common room was busy enough that the low chatter kept their words between them but there were also first years sat close by who could pick up on their conversation. “I don’t want to lose him by pushing him away. We’re twins, we talk about everything. I feel like this wall is growing and asking him directly could lead us to a lot worse.”

“Like the having to tell him about you and I.” Hermione said dropping his gaze to the books in front of her. 

She felt bad that she was doing this to Fred and George. Fred resisted the urge to reach over and cup Hermione’s cheek like he wanted to. He had not meant for her to feel sad or that she was at fault in anyway. Fred settled on moving his chair so it was close as possible to Hermione’s and reached under the table to take her hand.

“That’s not what I meant. But if I am asking George to be honest with me about his love life I would owe him the same.” Fred stroked his thumb across Hermione’s knuckles before letting her hand go and turning back to the work at hand. “Besides he has the right to date who he wants.”

“Do you want to do something fun tonight?” Hermione asked, she wanted to change the subject to something lighter to help cheer Fred up.

“When did you become the fun one?” Fred asked a smirk growing as he went back to his homework. “And when did I become the homework one?”

“Hey, I’m not ‘the homework one’. I’m the good student one, or the smart one.” Hermione said flicking the feather of her quill on Fred’s arm.

“Are you trying to say, Miss Granger, that I am not smart?” Fred said fake gasping and holding his palm to his chest. Hermione laughed as Fred pretended to wipe a fake tear away from his cheek. “You wound me so.”

“You didn’t answer my question, did you want to do something fun?” Hermione asked again.

“What did you have in mind?” Fred asked, he was curious. Although he often planned how they spent their free time he loved it when Hermione was a little more spontaneous and asked to do something out of the blue.

Fred and Hermione spent their night in the restricted section of the library. Fred would not have thought of that as his first idea of fun but Hermione seemed to shed a new light on the location. 

They waited until after hours when the Library was closed. Hermione knew a trick or two. During her first few years of Hogwarts she had found ways to get back inside if she wasn’t quite finished studying. But she never went back to the restricted section. 

Fred left all but one light off, Hermione led them to the back corner and pressed Fred against the tall bookshelf. She had to stand on her tip toes in order to kiss Fred but he soon leaned down to help her out. They kissed long and carelessly, only stopping to catch their breath.

“I should have guessed that the library would turn you on.” Fred whispered against Hermione’s lips. She laughed quietly taking a step back to let Fred cool off for a moment. She was enjoying herself but they both knew it could not go a lot further. The discussion of sex had not brought itself up yet but there was an unspoken understanding that neither of them wanted that to happen for the first time at Hogwarts.

Fred reached his hands out towards Hermione and pulled her against him once again, he pushed aside some of the fly away hair that had made its way in front of Hermione’s eyes.

“We should go.” Hermione whispered. But neither one of them moved. Fred pushed Hermione’s chin up gently to give her a last kiss before they made their way back to the Gryffindor common room. The couple raced down corridors only stopping to make sure the coast was clear. Hermione did her best to keep up with Fred long legs as he pulled her along.

Hermione entered the common room first, to make sure the coast was clear. She stopped inside for a moment to catch her breath. But Ginny was up sitting by the fire place with a book in her lap that she was not looking at.

“You’re out late, and George said he hasn’t seen Fred all night,” Ginny commented turning to look at Hermione who tried to use her hair to cover her blushing. Ginny smiled but did not push the matter any further. “Must be serious prefect business.”

“Just…lost track of time.” Hermione said hoping the tone of her voice didn’t give her away.

“Well, I’m off to bed,” Ginny said dropping the blanket from around her shoulders to the chair. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.” Hermione said, once Ginny was out of sight she rushed back to the entrance to pull Fred inside.

“What took so long?” Fred asked laughing as Hermione held a finger up to her lips to signal he needed to be quiet. Hermione headed to the foot of the stairs to make sure Ginny had actually left. When she was sure that Ginny was not waiting to shout ‘caught you’ she headed back to Fred. “What’s going on?” He asked crossing his arms and smirking at her.

“Ginny was waiting here.” Hermione said as Fred walked her back to the stairs.

“I think she might be onto us.” Fred commented as he leaned against the wall and took Hermione’s hand in his. Whenever they were alone Fred took the opportunity just to touch Hermione a little. Always in an innocent way that he couldn’t do when they were around others. It was always just holding her hand or brushing her cheek.

“I think she’s been onto us for a while.” Hermione said with a sigh smiling up at Fred as he took a step closer. “But even if she knows something I don’t think she’ll say anything.”

“Like you never said anything to anyone about her liking Potter.” Fred teased. Hermione arched an eyebrow.

“You know I’m a prefect right?” Hermione asked. “I think you ought to be careful I don’t think of a fitting punishment for that tone, Mr. Weasley.”

“I love it when you play the prefect card.” Fred said with a chuckle. He checked his watch, it wasn’t too late but he needed to tell Hermione something before he went to bed. He just did not have the heart to blurt it out in the common room when someone could interrupt them at any moment. Instead he pulled Hermione in for one last goodnight kiss.

Fred laid in bed that night a little worried. Fred and George had been thinking up something to torment Umbridge with when the time felt right. And Fred had a feeling that day could come at any moment. With the frequency of decrees hanging in the school in a week it felt as though a piece of freedom was taken every other day. He just didn’t know how to tell Hermione about their plans. And that Hermione was the only thing keeping Fred from agreeing with George to leave the school.


	14. Chapter 14

Fred had plenty of chances to tell Hermione about the fireworks the twins had been perfecting. He had plenty of chances to sit her down and talk about how Hogwarts did not feel like home anymore. He wanted to tell her he liked that he was better at his classes now but his passions laid elsewhere. 

But whenever he plucked up the courage to talk to her alone he made the conversation about something else. Or they made out.

The major issue Fred was facing was that he had no one else to confide in. If their relationship still wasn’t a secret he could talk to Lee, George or Ginny or, even at a push Harry about what he should say and how he should say it. 

He had never considered himself good at expressing his feelings without making everything into a joke. And he knew that telling Hermione what the twins intended needed to come from a serious place.

But something really clicked when Dumbledore fled the castle and Umbridge became headmistress. Suddenly there was an urgency to George that Fred shared. They had been loyal to Dumbledore and Umbridge was making the school unbearable. If it had not been for Hermione Fred was certain that Hogwarts would already be just a memory for the twins.

Hermione found herself alone in the library, like a thousand other times in the her education. She had yet to see Fred that day so she sat opposite Harry and Ginny while they all tried their hardest to focus on work and not what had happened over the last few weeks.

Harry was still taking Dumbledore leaving the hardest, Hermione could tell he blamed himself. And without DA to keep them all busy they were finding it a little hard to keep their spirits up.

“At least Easter is coming up.” Ginny said nudging Harry with her elbow. “No class for a couple of weeks.” Harry shrugged.

“I need to find a couple of books.” Hermione said dismissing herself from the table. She hoped with her out of the way Harry might open up to Ginny. She knew Ginny was dating Michael Corner but Hermione still kind of liked the idea of Ginny and Harry together. Even if she had been the one to tell Ginny to try dating other guys. Besides Ginny had been a good sport about her and Fred so far and they had not even told her they were dating.

Hermione was lost in her own thoughts for a second, staring at book titles without taking any of them in.

“Do you remember the last time we were alone in this library?” Fred’s all too familiar voice whispered in her ear. Hermione blushed and turned around to see Fred smiling at her. “I believe Granger you and I should revisit that spot sometime.”

Hermione checked that no one else was in the aisle before kissing Fred quickly. Fred smiled and leaned towards Hermione with his hand resting near her head on the bookshelf behind her.

“Where have you been all day?” Hermione asked, she knew they were in a more than friendly position but she did not have the will power to move.

“Around,” Fred said with a shrug. “Actually I’ve been meaning to talk to you. Alone.”

“We’re alone now.” Hermione said double checking that no one had wondered over.

“Not here.” Fred said, “it’s important.” Hermione rarely saw Fred’s serious side, she had a feeling he was keeping something from her, but she didn’t have the heart to bring it up. Not when things had been going well between the two of them.

“Okay, I was sitting with Harry and Ginny. I’ll get my stuff and meet you…” Hermione trailed off so Fred could tell her where he had in mind.

“The room of requirement.” Fred said, forgetting one small detail.

“Fred, Umbridge has the room surrounded at all times. Filch might as well have a bed up there for Mrs. Norris.” Hermione said as she watched Fred’s face drop. The room had been a special place they could be alone together and the more freedom that was taken from them less they could see of one another. “I’ll meet you by the lake, it’s a pretty nice day out.”

Fred nodded, Hermione pulled him in for a quick kiss before leaving to say her goodbyes and grab her work. Harry and Ginny were too busy discussing Quidditch and other matters to make any kind of note on Hermione’s sudden departure.

Hermione found Fred waiting for her a short stroll away from the door to the castle. Hermione held back from taking his hand in hers, other students had spilt outside to enjoy the nice weather. But Fred took her hand anyway and led them away from everyone else so no one would overhear their conversation.

“What’s going on?” Hermione asked when they had chosen a spot and sat down facing the water.

“George and I have been talking. A lot. About our plans, our shop, about this place.” Fred started, he could not look at Hermione while he talked, not when he was trying to have a serious discussion with her. If he saw her getting sad or upset he knew he would end up resorting to making a joke out of the situation and he didn’t want that to happen.

“Okay.” Hermione prompted when Fred had yet to continue.

“We have some…plans for Umbridge. I don’t want to tell you too much, you’re a prefect after all. But I don’t think- I mean if things don’t- we really both-” Fred kept cutting himself off unable to find the right words. “Right now I only want to be at this school to spend time with you. But you can’t spend all hours of the day with me. George and I think we might leave before the end of the year.”

Hermione was speechless. She had valued her education over everything else her entire life. When she found out she was a witch and would be attending Hogwarts that work ethic only intensified. During her first year she had been scared that if she had one bad mark, or if she slipped up on one spell they would send her right back to her muggle life where she no long felt she belonged. So to hear Fred say he wanted to give up just before the finish line made Hermione anxious for the twins.

“What about your exams?” Hermione asked. “There’s not much of the year left.”

“I know, but I’ve always felt like my talents laid outside the walls of any classroom.” Fred said turning to face Hermione. She was looking down at her hands playing with a split string on her robes. “I think we would have left sooner if it wasn’t for you.” Fred said. When Hermione breathed in a sharp breath he was unsure whether telling her had been the right thing to do.

“When?” Hermione asked not needing to fill in the rest of her question.

“Neither or us are sure when, but some time soon. We haven’t got a full plan just yet. But it won’t be a surprise. I won’t leave without a proper goodbye.” Fred said reaching over and taking her hand to give a quick squeeze.

“I’ll miss you.” Hermione said so quietly Fred wasn’t sure she had spoken at all.

“Not as much as I’ll miss you.” Fred said not wanting to make Hermione cry but he still had to watch as her face fell. Fred pulled Hermione to her feet and they walked hand in hand towards the Quidditch pitch. Hermione was not sure where Fred was leading them there until he unlocked the door to the Gryffindor changing rooms.

“What if they have practice?” Hermione asked as Fred pulled her to his body and wrapped his arms around her.

“They already had practice today.” Fred said as he rested his head on top of Hermione’s and enjoyed the scent of Hermione’s shampoo filling his nose.

Hermione sighed against Fred’s chest and turned her head to look up at him. She took a moment to decide whether or not she wanted to tell Fred how she felt about him. They had been together for months and she wanted to tell him before but the right time had never presented itself. She reached up and cupped Fred’s cheek in her palm, stroking the freckles that covered his face.

“I love you.” Hermione said and held her breath.

At first Fred was not sure if Hermione was going to say more. The air felt like it was made for a big speech rather than a confession of love. But Hermione just waited staring at Fred with watery eyes.

“I love you too.” Fred said, he turned his head to kiss Hermione’s palm before holding her face in his hands and kissing her deeply.


End file.
